Credit: Monstercat
HAPPY TO BE HERE (Jon Casey)
Genre: Trap
In short: "simple trap in the modern era"
Credit: Monstercat
Genre: Trap
In short: "simple trap in the modern era"
Rating: 55
Cohesiveness: 56
Track quality: 63
Tags:
Beginner-friendly? not really, no
Jon Casey is a rising star in the scene for his creative takes on trap, but for this EP, all he really wants to do is say that he's "HAPPY TO BE HERE". Though I find myself wishing he said a bit more.
The good: Minimal trap with a lingering sense of the old-school tends to do quite well in the modern ecosystem of bass music, and with names like TroyBoi and PEEKABOO on this project, "HAPPY TO BE HERE" has some pretty interesting performances. Jon Casey brings some attractive ideas to this EP, willing to experiment with whatever he has at hand.
The bad: Whilst the ideas are (mostly) solid, I can't help but feel like the execution misses its mark. "HAPPY TO BE HERE" faces a range of songwriting issues, from overdone sampling to questionable composition choices (like the abrupt techno drop on "WAITING ROOM") that tend to override what Jon Casey is actually trying to get through.
| Name | Comments | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| DON'T U | Heavy-handed intro that develops into quite a nice, rich lead in the drop, feeling kind of melodic and very clean | Melodic |
| AHORA | Admittedly not a fan of the sampling here, the minimal stabby drops are pretty cool but don't do enough heavy lifting | Intense |
| GO! | Again, it's the sampling that misses for me, because the bassy production is nifty but not quite enough | Switchup |
| RUDE! | Baile-influenced cut with more interesting ideas and skittish drums, not bad but still overly reliant on the loud sampling | Standout |
| EARTHQUAKE | Tiresome to say again, but I'm not big on the vocal - the trap is more old-school and pretty cool but also kind of repetitive | Intense |
| WAITING ROOM | Low-key garage for the finale, Marlhy's vocal is great and the techno drop is nice but the songwriting feels weird and a bit tropey | Switchup |