Credit: Deadbeats
Escapism Vol. 1
[By: Levity]
Genre: Freeform bass
Rating: 60
Cohesiveness: 61
Track quality: 64
Beginner-friendly? nah
Written YYYY/MM/DD
Fast-rising dubstep trio Levity embark on their biggest project yet, "Escapism Vol. 1", and it's pretty meaty, and it's got a fair bit of freeform wobble, too.
The good: At seven tracks, intro and outro included, "Escapism Vol. 1" is definitely a creative endeavour, reinforced by that extremely wonky style they've become so popular for. And honestly, in a modern ecosystem where every dubstep act and their grandmother wants to perfect wobbly dubstep in an attempt to recreate the nostalgia of the brostep decade, Levity do a pretty good job at standing out with their hip-hop and trap leanings — there are definitely some bangers here.
The bad: Most of the tracklist feels disingenuous to the 'escapism' concept of the EP. Many of these tracks sound like they'd be better at smashing a dancefloor rather than smashing their way out of reality — but even so, the wobbly brostep style doesn't quite feel solid enough for me to consistently enjoy it.
Listen on Spotify here.
Escape - intro [Structural] | (/100)
Pretty simple intro with a spoken word sample and a clean transition into the next track "Ignition"
Ignition [Intense] | (/100)
Wobbly sustain-driven brostep with clean growls and drops, sampling, and a richer second drop
Chill [Standout] | (/100)
w/ ProbCause
Addictive wonky lead and rap that supplements the flow, but I'm not huge on the other elements included
Flip It [Fun] | (/100)
w/ Dem Jointz
Even though the fun sample is now a cult classic, the whole empty vibe isn't really for me
ONE FOR YOU [Heavy] | (/100)
w/ ALLEYCVT
Enjoyed the vocal, not so much the drops, whether that's the overblown sustain first drop or the empty second
Jaded [Intense] | (/100)
The wonky elements shine best here, I'd say, and the rap is brash and a very good inclusion
Reawakening - outro [Structural] | (/100)
Honestly I kind of dig this outro, the progression is good and although it's slightly jarring it does its job
- Jaded (/100)
- Ignition (/100)
- Chill w/ ProbCause (/100)
- Reawakening - outro (/100)
- Escape - intro (/100)
- Flip It w/ Dem Jointz (/100)
- ONE FOR YOU w/ ALLEYCVT (/100)