Magnetic - Dirtyphonics

Bass music giants Dirtyphonics have successfully proved that, after all this time, they're still alive and kicking.

They do so by dropping a meaty second studio album, "Magnetic", this time on Monstercat. It's packed with tracks from all ends of the mainstage bass music spectrum — but first, let's talk drum n bass. As the most prominent genre on "Magnetic", drum n bass holds a pretty sizeable stake in the runtime of this album, and Dirtyphonics' DnB production is as good as ever. Opting to open and close the album with two distinct DnB sections — the former of which is loaded with energetic, heavier dancefloor-styled tracks; and the latter of which is rock-infused and hopeful — Dirtyphonics display their proficiency in the genre with plenty of finesse. The tracks aren't complicated — in fact, they're quite linear — but although they feel slightly stale at times, they don't need complexity to be energetic. "Magnetic" draws its energy from the adrenaline of the drops and the substantiality of the accompanying buildups, a tried and tested formula that Dirtyphonics have perfected over the years. The midsection of the project is still linear, but a switchup from the DnB-weighted opening and closing movements. Dirtyphonics play through neighbouring mainstage genres like dubstep and bass house, and even techno, and whilst these are still genres they know their way around, they bring in a few strong collaborators, with producers like Samplifire, Bossfight and IVORY all joining the fray. I have to commend "Magnetic" for balancing collaborations with solo tracks, and the French duo sees their style shine through in every cut, with the collaborating producers adding a much-needed extra star power to the tracklist. I say much-needed because "Magnetic" does, ultimately, find itself a little stale. Without anything at all to glue the tracks together, not even a consistent mood, "Magnetic" finds itself as little more than a collection of festival bangers — and whilst that doesn't take away from any of the individual tracks, it definitely hurts the holistic project.

Lack of cohesion in any project is not good, and "Magnetic" is no different. When it comes down to it, "Magnetic" struggles as a full project, and that can lead to tracks struggling to stand out, too. Many of them deserve their place in the limelight individually, sure, but oftentimes the repetitive structure and simple hard-hitting ideas can get repetitive and tired. So sure, there's some very good tracks on here, and sure, there's some undeniably good production from both Dirtyphonics and their collaborators, but as a full project, "Magnetic" fails to interest me.