deadmau5 – For Lack of a Better Name
EDM – Released September 22, 2009 – 10 songs, 66 mins
Average Rating: 8.1
ROZ’s album drop:
I’ve figured it out. Was gonna get silly but instead I thought, we’ve done a bunch of rock albums so it’s time to drag you boys into my world.
My pick for this week is ‘For Lack of a Better Name’ by deadmau5. This is arguably the album where deadmau5 was at his peak and helped solidify his place in EDM and the genre of progressive house as a whole. I was lucky to catch him live twice when this album just came out and it’s up there as one of my favourite memories.
It’s a 10 track album, don’t mind the remixes or extended mix. I’m excited for you guys to go through it because I know Lundi is familiar with some of these tracks (especially one in particular) and Reid you mentioned you’re getting into EDM more these days. Can’t wait to hear your opinions in detail. Make sure you listen in headphones for the full experience.
REID
Stepping outside the norm in week five with some EDM - deadmau5’s For Lack of a Better Name. Most of the album was a complete unknown as I had only heard three of ten songs. Let’s get into it!
FML is a decent opener. I really dig the drums throughout and how he changes up the pace as the song progresses. 4:03 is a particularly fun. Moar Ghosts N’ Stuff and Ghosts N’ Stuff are absolute beauties that I’ve heard before. They bring me back to university partying and particularly Konfusion (lol). I still wish I had to link up with you lunatics a few years earlier but I managed to get a degree so maybe it’s best we didn’t. Both are runners-up for my favourite song. Hi Friend! is a catchy little jam but drags on a little longer than necessary. Bringing us to the point of the album where the bars are all closed and we head to some dungeon to keep the night going on waters and red bull (shout out to Liquid in St. John’s or Comfort Zone or Rebel in Toronto). Bot, Word Probs and Soma all fall into the ‘shut off your brain and dance’ category. I’m getting sweaty just thinking about it. They all have parts I enjoy, like 4:36 in Soma but this part of the album is on the lower end quality wise for me. Things pick back up with Lack of a Better Name and The 16th Hour. Both are super fun songs with so much going on and I particularly enjoy the latter’s track name. The album concludes with Strobe which will forever bring me back to our hotel room in Miami on the most jam packed four day vacation ever. The song is great. The slow start, the build, the pay off – so good. But the nostalgia of being exactly where I wanted to be with three of my best buddies will always keep this one in a special place.
One thing I absolutely love throughout this whole album are the transitions from one song to the next. I’m a sucker for a good transition, it really contributes to the overall feel of an album. I struggled coming up with my rating on this one. I think the album is very well put together but at the end of the day, I’ll likely only ever listen to a handful of the songs regularly. I find myself listening to more dance music than ever but it’s mostly singles and in the right setting. I’ll rarely throw on a full dance album, other than RUFUS. Hali-Roz won’t get the reference but this album just screams ‘PUT YOUR FUCKIN BABIES IN THE AIR!’
Rating – 7.1/10
Favourite Song – Strobe
ROZ
For this week, I figured that I would switch things up by choosing an EDM album. Deadmau5 was one of the first DJs that I ever listened to (although Joel himself hates being called a DJ), and to this day he's still my favorite electronic artist. I was beyond excited to go back and give this one a full listen-through again, and it did not let me down.
Here we go!
FML
This is a real "industrial house" type beat and initially caught me off guard considering the direction Joel went in his previous album, Random Album Title. Nevertheless, it definitely piqued my curiosity for what was to come. Really enjoyed the army march-like drum pattern that continues throughout the entirety of the song, and that signature hard hitting bassline.
Moar Ghost N Stuff
The classic deadmau5 kick and snare combo, which if you listen closely, you'll hear in a majority of Joel's tracks. Really enjoy the high octave saw-wave melody in this one, which itself piggybacks off of the catchy chords and melody of GnS.
Ghosts N Stuff
The hit single from this album and a song that actually saw radio airtime - a rarity in the EDM scene, especially in the house genre and especially for deadmau5 himself (I believe this and The Veldt are the only two to have this honor). Rob Swires vocals are absolutely fantastic on this. The organ playing and those string hits all come together to create the 2009 banger that could be heard in every bar and club around the world. This was one of the ones that really got me into the scene back in those days.
Hi Friend
Another track that I kept in my DJ sets from 2009 to 2014. Guitar fills, heavy moog bass, and one of my favorite grooves to this day - this one should be able to get you moving, and if not please order another drink.
Bot
Here is where we go deeper into Joel's tech house style, and where words like "radio play" and "hit single" are lost. You won't find this here, but if you ever found yourself in a dark underground after-hours bar this may very well meet you there. The groove, the sub bass, the offbeat percussion, and not to mention Joel's trademark mid-song break into dark, brooding chord progressions, oh man. This is something I'd have loved to experience live during Joel's old Ibiza residency.
Word Problems, Soma, Lack of a Better Name
Much of the same as Bot and display Joel's tech house trademark style (mid-track symphonic break, heavy low end and percussion off the downbeat) so I'll lump these guys together. Heavy bass, great groove. catchy vocal hook in Word Problems.. Looks like we're staying in Ibiza, boys. The midmark piano break in Soma goes to show how truly talented Joel is, from a musical standpoint instead of simply a technical one. It's one of the many displays of musicality that will reverberate through his future releases (including his entire 2014 ambient styled album While(1<2)).
The 16th Hour
Really loved the arpeggiated lead synth in this track, so I had to give it it's own writeup. The chords also stand out to me - large sawtooth supersaws with that opening cutoff filter - a sound popularized by the man himself and eventually seen everywhere in late 2000s house music. This track is the personification of the "Deadmau5 pluck" that I used to try and emulate back when I first got my hands on some production software.
Strobe
And here it is - the climax of the entire album. I actually took some time to try and write out my thoughts and feelings about this track, but after many rough drafts I just couldn't do it justice. Instead I'll simply say this: To me, personally, this is the best song ever made.
And there's my review. For Lack of a Better Name is my second favorite album of Joels just behind Random Album Title and includes my favorite song ever produced. You just know this one's getting a high rating from me, boys.
Rating – 9.5/10
Favourite Song – Strobe (10/10)
LUNDI
Well this album takes me back and gives me flashes of iconic memories and absolute PTSD about my time in university. I’ve ridden an exercise bike flat out through the 10 minutes of strobe and spent years of engineering cramming listening to this album. I could never study with lyrics and hated the silence but this album was the sweet spot.
While I’m far from knowledgeable in this area of music, this has to be one of the greatest EDM albums of album time. Thanks to my good pal Roz Roswell it was the first one I gave a chance and it has stuck with me for a very long time.
Each and every track has the signature Deadmau5 sound I love. For a genre that has so many copycats this guy always manages to pull off the unique and this album holds true 10+ years later.
As for the actual tracks I don’t think you could go anywhere in 2009 without hearing ghosts n stuff and for good reason. It is an absolute banger. I also particularly love FML and Lack of a Better Name but nothing even comes close to Strobe. It’s the greatest EDM track ever and breaks boundaries in music. The build up just leaves you with major anticipation until the drop ultimately happens. Many fucked up days have been spent with this album and I think it deserves some more in the near future.
Rating – 7.8/10
Favourite Song – Strobe (obviously)