This is my first acquaintance with Nashville trio BASECAMP, but let’s begin this dissection by saying that it certainly won’t be my last. Greater Than is a pensive six-track assemblage, brought to you by Skrillex’s label OWSLA.
It’s hard put any one label on the record, and it really needs to be experienced to be understood; but for one, if you enjoy any left-of-field electronica, you need to get around this EP. Instrumentally, Greater Than is a bit wacky, rhythmically playful and harmonically genius, speckled with appropriately awkward synth chops and melodies. Gorgeous acoustic touches find their way onto the record as a moody string ensemble, a sneaky brass layer in “404”, and crisp, rapid acoustic plucks on the closing title-track.
Lead single and opening track ‘Watch My Back’ prepares you for an R&B record, but by the time you’re hit with ‘Surrender’, you realise you’re experience the work of three electronic producer masterminds. After all, vocalist Aaron Miller has a deep voice fit for R&B, but his sultry smooth tone also finds itself at home on the more audacious tracks, with their dizzying warped sounds.
Skrillex knows what’s good, and has consistently driven the frontier of electronic music. His faith now lies in BASECAMP; yours should too.
Rating: ★★★★☆
You can grab yourself a copy of BASECAMP‘s Greater Than EP now from iTunes.
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