If the title is any indication of what they've been hiding from us for the past two years, I'd say it's pretty apt. The combination of Au5 & Fractal is a stunning trancestep experience. Lingering basslines and vocals give it a very relaxing trance feel - somewhat similar to Seven Lions. But the dubstep, the hard hitting bass, those kicks, go so much harder.
Since there are only four tracks on this EP, and I have some time on my hands, let's go ahead and go through each track one by one, shall we?
1. Blue
The first track of the album, setting the tone for the whole thing. Honestly, the first thing I notice is the over-processed snares (though, the more I listen to it the less I care). The main drum pattern kicks in at about 0:55, right around where a typical dubstep drop would be - this is the first trance element I notice: the extended intro. The drop is well-balanced with a variety of synths that don't overpower one another. The second drop is where Blue really gets me though. The drums come in again, same pattern. Same build-up. But that drawn-out wobble right there hits so damn hard, I'm actually a little sad that they didn't draw it out just a bit longer. After that, the track continues the same as before. For such a good track, a little disappointing in execution. Melody is still the high point for me though, so I'm set.
2. Dreaming
My second favorite track on Secret Weapon. Synths come in, sounding almost like a Deadmau5-esque trance tune, until that little arpeggio, whereupon I'm convinced that's not what I'm gonna get. Ohhhhhh, white noise in the build-up. But damn is that voice sultry smooth! The track drops at about 2:00, and it's got such an uplifting house beat that I can manage to forgive the fact that it's house. It gets a little glitch, adding in some scratched wobbles and high-pitched synths. The vocals carry most of the melody for the song, but that second drop got me fist-pumping.
3. Secret Weapon
The weakest track on the EP, in my opinion. Vocals make a second appearance, though the general progression on the track is relatively weak. Personally, I'm a fan of crescendos so I was loving that section, but there was much less melody compared to the other tracks on the EP. The breakdown seemed like it was empty space, in that it could have been used to better effect - possibly with some kind of piano solo carrying into the next build-up? The second half follows the same formula as the first, giving a very cyclic feeling to the track, as if it never really went anywhere. A little disappointing.
4. Smoke
The final track on Secret Weapon, and hands-down my favorite. Right in the beginning - atmospheric and dark, just the way I like it. The kicks jump in and the melody finds its bassline. The snares come in, the melody evolves; small chimes, ethereal synths. The volume intensifies. I feel myself becoming ready. KICK KICK KICK KICK. SNARE SNARE SNARE SNARE. Boom, drop. This track is so gloriously electrohouse and I love it. Taking elements from glitch, arpeggios all over the place, it's extremely well put together and produced.
Final thoughts - my opinions of this EP have changed a great deal with every listen. The first time through, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the deep bass feel, the melodic progression and trance/glitch fusion with Au5 & Fractal's distinct sound. As I continued to listen to it, however, I realized that (to me, at least) Secret Weapon has very limited replayability. The tracks soon became tired as I realized the very noticeable formula to every track - build-up, drop, breakdown, build-up, drop. In addition, something I only realized just now, all the tracks have very similar lengths, which subconsciously puts some limit on how I enjoyed the tracks. I like diversity - one song is super hard, sweet and short; the next is a musical, melodic ballad that takes me deep into my own psyche - and this EP seems to lack that.
In its own right, Secret Weapon is Au5 & Fractal's best work. And as with all of the artists I review, I am truly honestly excited to see what they have in store for us next.
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