Bleep

Planet’s Mad. Never were truer words written. Mind you, the title of the sophomore LP from Baauer isn’t really in reference to planet Earth - rather, it’s a loose concept record that revolves around a new world appearing within sight of ours.

After some cinematic synth work, opening cut ‘PLANCK’ snaps into the kind of ground-shaking hip-hop beat that has brought Baauer so many comparisons to TNGHT and Rustie down the years. ‘GROUP’ and ‘PIZZAWALA’ both do something similar, the latter while running at a skittering half-time.

However, while a commitment to maximalist dance sounds is the guiding principle for Baauer once again here, this aesthetic proves to be pretty elastic in terms of genres and beat patterns. ‘YEHOO’, for instance, has the drive of hard drum and possibly also Batida, and these styles are also in the mix on ‘REACHUPDONTSTOP’. Meanwhile Baauer goes harder than ever on the mid-section one-two of ‘HOT 44’ and ‘AETHER’ - while the former features some juddering techno rhythms sampling Headstrong Records producer Randomer, the latter’s monstrous bass and crashing breakbeats sound like a long-lost joint from The Prodigy’s golden age. 'HOME' towards the end of the record also features vocals from Manchester's Bipolar Sunshine as well as co-production from Hudson Mohawke.

On his second album Planet’s Mad, Baauer demonstrates that there is plenty room for genre-hopping within his big-room dance sound.