aaamusic | On 07, Feb 2011

Purporting to be, well, pretty much everything, ‘Darker’ by Irie Dan Bless is a bullish, spiky track that wears its techno alliances on its sleeves. Gritty new wave synths play over malignant rave electronics, with a dance drumbeat and understated yet fierce rapping. Fluctuating between hip-hop breaks and a manic change around trippy electro madness, this track is most definitely an intriguing beast. I can’t quite decide whether the quieter moments and choruses suit the track, but to blend new wave oddity with fluid rap and a crashing, surging intensity in the verses is a feat of some doing, and kudos where they are due, as Irie Dan Bless is able to leech in 8-bit elements without their feeling twee or out of place.
B-side to this is ‘Snakes And Ladders’, a trippy synthesised percussion sprawler. Clocking up six throbbing minutes, its cavernous drum machine opening brings to mind a million strobe-lit sweaty clubs, and the rap and dark synth growl adds crossover appeal. No two ways about it, the gritty electro is custom-built for late-night club dancefloor bounces. The whole things feels perhaps a little overlong, but the blend of simplistic club beats and loops and hip-hop is balanced to a scientific degree.

Irie Dan Bless can be a bit hit-and-miss, with elements of both tracks providing wobbles. His tracks sometimes confuse themselves and ramble into becoming flaccid either in mood or runtime. However, when they hit, they hit hard and well, and show a lot of potential.

Author: Katie H-Halinski