SATURATE YOUR WORLD! (Moore Kismet)

For those that emerge from the underground, stylistic identity and creativity are imperative to making any headway in the modern scene. Thankfully, Moore Kismet emerges equipped with both.

Their style is instantly recognisable, particularly here, in "SATURATE YOUR WORLD!". Unabashedly colourful, like a ring of fireworks all going off in tandem, this album is nothing if not stylistically rich. Powerful, explosive sound design marks a continuation of Moore Kismet's style, one that refuses to sit still within any given genre — taking root in some modern trap ideas, but bouncing around house, techno, future riddim, and even a baile funk cut in "KAAHO". And it flows, oh, it flows well. With smooth transitions between most tracks, "SATURATE YOUR WORLD!" is like a stream of amplified, oversaturated consciousness, exhibiting a certain relentless drive, a certain joyous energy as it barrels through the emotional highs and lows of its fifty-five minute runtime. Moore Kismet retains their colourful synth hits all throughout, and that strangely addictive whirring sound design — not to forget their trademark sampling imbued within literally every single breakdown in this album — and honestly, it's genuinely quite innovative, even to this day. Something about the way an earnest trap drop can be turned into an unserious, bouncy banger with the help of some flamboyant sound design and out-of-pocket sampling is so magnificent, smothering any tropes with a clear identity — something the modern bass music scene often lacks. "SATURATE YOUR WORLD!" is, needless to say, a refreshing album. Unfortunately for itself, though, it does repeat itself a bit much. Though Moore Kismet effortlessly avoids tropey production in the bigger picture of the scene, they also creates tropes of their own that slowly wear off their uniqueness as the album progresses. The house switchups, the big trap leads, the whirring sound design, a lot of these feel a little over-relied on in the context of the project, leaving "SATURATE YOUR WORLD!" feeling, ironically, almost restrained. With the dynamicism of sound design lost, mood and tonality remain the only elements remaining for Moore Kismet to experiment with — and whilst they do, it's just not enough to quite retain engagement. The swings from chiller, more intimate tracks to harder, faster ones are, whilst appreciated, a little lost without clearer indicators by the sound design.

Don't let that last part fool you though, because this is still a very strong album. Moore Kismet's been on my radar for a hot minute now, and this is project is only going to reinforce that, because, I gotta say, their style is one of the best in the scene currently. And though their sound design wore off in the album's runtime, it works wonders for each of these tracks independently, whilst the transitions act as adhesive for the holistic album. Unfortunately, I just feel as if "SATURATE YOUR WORLD!" totals up to a little less than the sum of its parts.