By Jordan Meehan
I recently had the opportunity to review the new EP from Bleed Electric, entitled This Is My Masterpiece. Prior to this,
I had never heard of Bleed Electric,
so I was excited to see what they would bring to the table, and with
“masterpiece” in the title, the bar was raised a little high. As I listened to
the 6-track EP, I realized that I had been missing out on some great music from
this group! Aren’t pleasant surprises well…oh so pleasant? Here are my thoughts
on the new EP:
The EP opens up with A
New Reason, a driving, pounding track that effortlessly blends hip-hop with
top-notch electronica that makes you just want to bop along. I’m not a big
hip-hop fan, but this track makes even me want to learn the lyrics and spit
them out while jiving to the beat.
The second track, Accidental
Genius, just so much going on in this track its hard to keep up! Somehow,
though, it all seems to fit together quite organically into a single sonically
appealing track. With elements of disco, rap, hip-hop and dub you might be
skeptical of how well this track turns out. Alas, it proves to be an
irresistible track that melds all of these elements together effectively.
The EP continues to mix in different elements of electro
with Pragmatic, which churns along
delightfully with elements of gritty electronica and acid house. This track is
juxtaposed (quite effectively, I might add) with Jus’ Been Thinkin’ Bout You (Yeah), a slower, simpler hip-hop/RnB
track that slows the EP down just enough, while still maintaining a lively
pulse.
The next track, Angel
Fly, picks up the pace a bit; similar to the opening track, it’s an
effective mix of hip-hop & rap and electronica, and has what is perhaps the
best chorus on the EP. The last track (which is the title track), This Is My Masterpiece, is perhaps my
favorite track on the EP; it’s slow, thoughtful and the sound swells, as the
track gets more and more intense and proves to be a very effective closing
track to an incredible EP.
Overall, This Is My
Masterpiece encapsulates everything that music today should strive to be:
beyond the constraints of a single genre. It is an eclectic work of art that
unapologetically defies genre norms and burns with a sonic passion that could
only be expressed through the unification of different music styles. This EP
contains elements of hip-hop, rap, RnB, electronica, disco, and dub, which, on
the surface, sounds like it would be a complete and utter mess. However, as
with most great works, you just need to step back and appreciate it as a whole,
not pick apart each individual aspect, to really appreciate how great it is. This Is My Masterpiece will be available on October 31st, and you can stream the EP below.
THIS IS MY
MASTERPIECE – EP: 9/10