Thursday, 25 July 2013

Far East Movement- Dirty Bass Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- Dirty Bass

Artist- Far East Movement

American hip hop quartet Far East Movement have been around in the music world for quite a while, but really broke out into the major music market and public consciousness with their massive 2010 hit ‘Like a G6’, which gave them the distinction of being the first ever Asian American group to earn a number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. However the group have only had one top ten hit since that track. Could this be the album that brings them back to greater heights of musical success?

Track 1- Dirty Bass (featuring Tyga)

The album’s title track is a hip hop track that lives up to its title in terms of the heavy beats of the production that creates a great bouncy rhythm that can make you feel like a hip hop star in your mind. The raps simply focus on the idea of this dirty bass and girls, and both Tyga and Fra East Movement come across with little personality, and so the track doesn’t excite you in the way that it should. Tyga is the stronger of the rap sections however and he actually makes this feel slightly more like a proper hip hop track. The chorus is also quite bland, with the uncredited vocal performance by Wendi Cakes having no personality, and so this song could be much better than it actually is, with the interesting production really being the only exciting element of the track.

2/5

Track 2- Live My Life (featuring Justin Bieber)

After the bad qualities of the last track it seems that this song is designed to make up for the album opener, as it is a commercially calculated slice of fun dance/electro pop and hip hop that sees the group team up with worldwide mega star Justin Bieber and hit making producer RedOne. As the title would suggest, the lyrical content of the track has a typical live for the moment message, with Far East Movement rapping about partying and girls and also once again referencing a dirty bass, with these references featuring a lot and just coming across as annoying. However, whilst the rap sections aren’t totally interesting, the chorus has a simple catchiness in terms of the statement of ‘I’m gonna live my life’, with Bieber providing a light and youthful vocal performance that is simpe and ineffective in making you wanting to dance along. And although the production of the song is familiar in terms of RedOne’s sound, the track has enough of a forceful dance edge to getting you wanting to join the party and actually do what the guys are saying.

3/5

Track 3- Where the Wild Things Are (featuring Crystal Kay)

Featuring Japanese recording artist Crystal Kay, Where the Wild Things Are is a vibrant dance pop and electro pop stomper that lives up to the album title in terms of the idea of a dirty bass (that is in the sound of the production rather than the dirty bass references). The track finds the Far East Movement boys rapping about crazy girls and being ready to take this girl home, whilst Kay provides a strong, simple hook driven chorus in which she exclaims of being where the wild things are, and in the process implies that she is wild. The raps are a little bit catchier here and have just an frenzied quality of fun, whilst Kay brings a strong vocal performance to the song which is filled with a nice vitality, and we can believe she is wild, although the singer is perhaps not utilised in the best way, as she could have provided a smooth vocal part to act as a bridge, and intermingled with some rapping, this would have made the final chorus a bit more impactful. The production is strong in terms of the electro pop sound that is fast paced and thumping in a way that is slightly infectious, and so this song definitely brings the album onto a better form.

3.5/5

Track 4- Turn Up the Love (featuring Cover Drive)

Things take a more summery turn with this track that features the Barbadian pop group Cover Drive. The song finds the group rapping about partying and clapping your hands, bland rap topics, but the guys here at least of a bit of a cheeky personality coming through and so the song sounds very catch. Cover Drives lead singer Amanda also provides a great vocal in the chorus that is smooth and light and which makes the song much more memorable and powerful. The song is all about being one in the partying and just feeling the love for each other, and it’s a nice lyrical sentiment that will be great at summer parties with your friends. The contrast of the light tones of the chorus with the heavier beats of the verses is also really great and makes for a catchy sound, with the transition between sections being strong moments to dance along to.

4/5

Track 5- Flossy (featuring My Name Is Kay)

Canadian singer songwriter My Name Is Kay comes on board for this RnB tinged track filled with a touch of urban swag and slowing the record down a bit. The song also takes a bit more of a lyrical turn, with the Far East Boys and Kay taking on the perspectives of a male and female in a great relationship and basically saying how the other is great and how they are all that they need. The combination of the vocals here gives the song a slight sweet edge, and the only things that ruin the song is the bass references in the bridge and this idea of being flossy which just feels weird. The light vocal tone of Kay makes for a light chorus that you can just chill and listen to, whilst the production of the song with the electronic stuttering’s and use of strings is a welcome change of sound that makes the song a little more interesting.

3.5/5 

Track 6- If I Die Tomorrow (featuring Bill Kaulitz)

With a title like If I Die Tomorrow, it was pretty safe to assume that this song would have a flavour of live for the moment about it, and the group deliver on this stereotypical front . As they rap about shaking things and partying, Kaulitz provides an annoying chorus about how if he dies tomorrow then that’s alright cause he has really lived this night and lost control. The song is just completely cliché driven electro pop with a touch of hip hop, and Kaulitz is just more of annoying feature than a cool guest artist, as his vocals are really heavily Auto Tuned and so bring no vitality or personality to the song. The production is okay, but the dance beats and electro pop wobbles are pretty typical of the genre, and so just add to the run of the mill quality of the track.

2/5

Track 7- Ain’t Coming Down (featuring Sidney Samson and Matthew Koma)

Leading on from the blandness of the last track this song starts off in a much more interesting way with the use of a almost perhaps haunting piano melody. But all to easily the song slips into dull territory with typical boasts from  the group about a dirty bass and other stuff that really shows they have nothing interesting to offer because apparently they can only focus on a few things all the time. The song is strong in the way that the chorus and verses clash, with the verses having a grittier, heavier, dance beat driven sound, whilst the chorus features simple piano and electro pop tones. However whilst this is interesting it still feels generic, and so the frenzied finish of the track just falls flat. The song would also work more in the chorus if Koma’s voice wasn’t so Auto Tuned, as although initially the chorus starts well, it quickly dissolves into a lacklustre affair that needs more personality.

2/5

Track 8- Candy (featuring Pitbull)

With Pitbull jumping on board for this track I expected this song to be bad, because like the group is raps aren’t that innovative and recycle a lot of material. The song is all about girls shaking their booties and basing this idea in the metaphor of sweets. This lyrical subject has been done so many times before by a range of artists that it just holds no appeal here, and both artists just come across as trying too hard to get a girl and just being annoying, with only Pitbull having the slightest touch of charisma. The distortion of the vocals is also just annoying, whilst the tinny percussion of the production and the gritty bassline is just really bland, and combined with some vocal ‘oh’s’, this song just comes across as proper annoying.

1.5/5

Track 9- Fly With U (featuring Cassie)

Here the group goes back to a sweeter side with another track that finds them loved up, with American recording artist Cassie providing the loved up chorus that finds her telling her beau how she doesn’t care what he has done and will just be with him flying high on their love. The rap sections have a lighter, cheekier quality that makes these sections a little bit better than the other songs, whilst the heavy bass, fast paced electro pop beats and light energy of the production is catchy. The breakdown at the end is also quite cool, and so producer Dallas Austin does a much better job than some of the other producers on the album. Yet whilst there are good things about this song, the track still has a lot of problems, with the final minute of the song in terms of the raps being dragged down by further stereotypical lines from the group. As well as this, the chorus is made extremely annoying by the way that Cassie’s vocals are so heavily distorted, and so she just comes across as this robot that nobody is going to fly with.

2.5/5

Track 10- Show Me Love (featuring Alvaro)

When this song began I thought finally they have produced some quite good music, as the light blend of piano and heavy bass gave the opening a kind of ethereal tone that was quite appealing. But as the vocals begin and then the track gets heavier and more dance driven, the group just completely ruin things. Alvaro’s chorus is all about her just asking you to show her love, and it probably would have been quite nice, but once again the Auto Tune button just ruins the song and makes for a more grating listen. The raps of Far East Movements are also just completely generic to the point where now you almost feel like they are parodying themselves, the production is quite good, with the gritty quality of the bass in the verses complimenting the lighter vibe of the chorus, but yet it is not enough to make this a good listen.

2.5/5

Track 11- Live My Life (Party Rock Remix) (featuring Justin Bieber and Redfoo)

As if to put a stamp themselves on the fact that they haven’t got a lot to offer musically, the group here simply provide us with a remixed version of track number 2. The only difference with this song and the original is that you have the broken down, heavier dance moments that are typical of a remix and a designed to just jump around to, with the verses being complete similarly and so completely dull.  One half of the kings of partying (a.k.a. LMFAO), Redfoo, brings a short kind of rap near the end of the track, but doesn’t really add much to the song, and so whilst its not bad as far as remixes go, I am bewildered as to how this become a standard album track, as it is pure bonus material for proper Far East Movement fans.

2/5

Track 12- Little Bird

The only song not to have a credited guest artist, this song is the only track on the record that is more emotional in tone and shows the smallest slither of artist credibility from the group. The chorus features a fragile female vocal that is for once not ruined by Auto Tune, and whilst they don’t necessarily sound completely sincere in tone, the group can be commended for not just talking about partying, as they speak of having lived all their life for love and showing this sense of fragilty. The production is nice in terms of the jangly tone of the piano in places and the simpleness of the heavy electronic beats. A little bit too little too late, but this track is a better song to end the record with rather than one of the other offerings. 

2.5/5

Final Review

Far East Movement are just really bad. The group needs to start coming up with raps that don’t recycle the same material and actually have a bit of an infectious vibrancy. The production needs to be less generic and tonally similar. And the guest artists need to be chosen a bit more carefully, or rather the use of Auto Tune needs to be heavily toned down. People may have liked ‘Like a G6’, but I don’t think this group has a lot more to offer.

3/10 I don’t think this group has a lot more to offer.

3/10

Best Track- Turn Up the Love (featuring Cover Drive)

Worst Track- Candy (featuring Pitbull)

 

 

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