RENEGADES OF LIGHT - LSDREAM

From the faraway lands of spacebass comes "RENEGADES OF LIGHT", a spiritually-imbued exploration of freeform bass in its grandest form.

LSDREAM has always had a knack for left-field, unclassifiable soundscapes that lean heavily on the psychedelic aesthetics of freeform bass, taking simple dubstep tropes and transmuting them into spacey, almost ethereal atmospheres, with a twinge of bass-laden aggression and a couple of well-placed stylistic switchups. "RENEGADES OF LIGHT" blurs a boundary between traditional dubstep, trap, and midtempo, stealing elements of each genre whenever it deems necessary to infuse into its vast atmospheres and powerful drops, always with an element of transcension and a melodic quality that worms its way to punctuate the heavy sustains, or the wobbly basslines. With that comes an unshakeable grandeur, an immersion into divine space very few bass albums are able to achieve, lending a consistent atmosphere to "RENEGADES OF LIGHT" that plays an essential role in its success as a holistic record. What's more offbeat is its supplement — humour. In typical LSDREAM fashion, "RENEGADES OF LIGHT" is infused with an unmistakable goofiness that should be incongruous to the album's transcendent concept, and yet pops out in a surprisingly well-polished way through the sampling. LSDREAM derives humour from blatantly inflated cheesiness that, when tinted with a robotic voice, obtains a slight sense of ridiculousness in its execution — but a ridiculousness that appeals to its motives in a way that provides no hindrance, but rather bolsters it. Variety is not quite a problem, either — at the very least, for the midsection. The late midsection of "RENEGADES OF LIGHT" is particularly strong, with tracks like the house "PHOENIX", the synthwork of "ETERNAL NOW", and the longer freeform "I AM BASS", but I can't quite say the same for the opening and closing sections of this album. Whilst structurally they feel well-done, it also does feel like LSDREAM loses the plot a little in terms of tasteful sound design and intentional atmospheres, and the result is a few undercooked tracks that (in of themselves) don't feel quite as well-contained or well-polished as the ones surrounding them. Some would say that's a minor nitpick, but this is, in my mind, the weak link of "RENEGADES OF LIGHT", a link so weak it drags it down a fair amount.

I'll award extra points to this album for fitting well with the cover art, too. Ultimately, "RENEGADES OF LIGHT" knows what it's going for, and — for the most part — executes it on demand, albeit with plenty of wiggle room. Sometimes it can get a little lost in that wiggle room, and a couple of the ideas LSDREAM goes for in a couple of the drops feel foggy or otherwise not quite on par with the rest of the record, but this is nevertheless still a strong showing. When it comes to intergalactic wubs and bizarre trope-bending bass with a little psychedelic spice sprinkled on top, "RENEGADES OF LIGHT" is a tough contender.