Review: Magnetic Man - Magnetic Man (Sampler)

Magnetic Man Magnetic Man (Sampler)

Dubstep, Electronic, Drum and Bass

1. I Need Air (Feat. Angela Hunte)

2. Boiling Water (Feat. Sam Frank)

3. Getting Nowhere (Feat. John Legend)

4. Perfect Stranger (Feat. Katy B)

5. Mad

8/10

Magnetic Man is Skream, Benga, and Artwork. It seems like anyone who cares at all about dubstep loves them or hates them. Given the fact that Benga & Skream's Rinse show basically sit at the top of my essential-listening list, my stance should be no mystery. "Pop-step" or not, Magnetic Man tunes accomplish what dance music ultimately exists for--they get people moving. How do you reconcile that with a recent post praising Burial and all that dark, atmospheric artists have done for the genre? Er...you don't think about it, and move along.

Anyways, "I Need Air" was a chart topper in the UK and the forthcoming album (Oct 11) will certainly be no different. This little sampler was leaked a little while ago with two new songs from the group, "Boiling Water" and "Getting Nowhere" (featuring John Legend, somewhat unfortunately). Unfortunately, these are probably the two weakest songs they've put out so far. "Boiling Water" is basically "Perfect Stranger" redux, with less attractive vocals. The drum loop is almost identical as well, and how they managed this (on a sampler, no less) is kind of baffling. "Getting Nowhere" fares better, a little more spacey than the rest of the songs, but John Legend's vocals are a bit distracting and don't mesh well with the rest of the track. You've probably heard the other songs, but in case you haven't they're all good. When Mary Anne Hobbs dropped "Mad" in Tokyo, I was grinning from ear to ear.

The full album is out October 11. If you want to preorder it or just peek at the tracklist, it's listed on itunes here.

Magnetic Man - Perfect Stranger (f/ Katy B) (Video) from Adrien Picard on Vimeo.