DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? - YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO

So yes, I'm a bit late on this one, considering the album came out in 2008 and they've released a follow-up album since (which seems far more average to me). But fuck it, I've just listened to the album on Spotify and decided to buy it, so why not talk about it.

DIOYY? are an English band that straddles the boundaries of electro and rock, sounding like a more muscly incarnation of Digitalism. The music is very raw, and has a distinct live sound. Its this that gives the album such impact, everything feels very real and honest (even when using layers of synthesizers and vocoders). 

"Battle Royale" sets the tone for the album, with various distorted noises layered over a Justice-esque drum beat before launching into a riff of syncopated stabs of synth. The guitar solo at the mid point of the track adds a suggestion of the rock music yet to come, before launching back into the typically mid-noughties punchiness. Following this is a personal favourite of mine, "With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You)," in my mind the heaviest song on the album. The song features an intense vocal performance from frontman James Rushent, some very chunky bass guitar, and absolutely shitloads of distortion. The aggression literally pours from the track as it seems to run out of control, the rising "Oh God!"s building the tension to the sort of instrumental chorus that makes you want to riot. It's one of my favourite "lose-your-shit" songs.

"We Are Rockstars" was the making of DIOYY?, the one that got them big and that actually drew me to them. Distinctively French in its sound, the song is something like a robotics experiment gone wrong, everything very synthetic and yet sounding very organic at the same time. It's still a great track. Then comes "Dawn of the Dead," the first of the more melodic pieces on the album, and its yet another winner. The casual nature of the vocals brings a great deal of honesty to the song, and the layers upon layers of sounds make it a very rich song to listen to, with the reverb-filled clap and backing "Oo, Aa" on the chorus sounding particularly cool to me. This is followed by another melodic track, but "Doomed Now" has a suitably darker tone. This song would be average. But the vocoder is nothing but superb, its strained sound lifting the song well above what it might have been.

Kicking off the second half of the album is the quirkiest of interludes, the awesomely named "Attack of the 60ft Lesbian Octopus." Taking influence from the sort of music you expect from a Scooby Doo chase sequence, the organ sounds and intense speed seem on the one hand ridiculous, but on the other immensely cool. This is followed by the far more conventional indie club tune "Let's Make Out", featuring some great vocals from Death From Above 1979's Sebastien Granger centered around the shouting of the song's wonderfully youthful and reckless title. This is combined with the same sort of sassy aggro we were introduced to at the outset of the record. Definitely one that get's stuck in your head... let's make out, let's make out, let's make out...

"Being Bad Feels Pretty Good" is one of the weaker songs on the record, but is by no means a bad song. Some of the nicest sang vocals on the album are layered over brighter, sparklier synths. The chorus is the highlight, the harmony of the various parts resulting in a really nice, unconventional yet conventionally indie sound. This is followed by "Weird Science," the most dance-y track of the album. The strange melody has grown on me considerably, and the tones of the synthesizers used are excellently varied, all chunky and glitchy. Much like "Let's Make Out," it displays the band's funkier side, and really wants you to just have fun. And lastly we have "Epic Last Song." A slight disappointment, I think 'epic' is an overstatement. But DIOYY?'s knack for good choruses shines through again, and the song still manages to be good, just not as downright amazing as some of the of the other tracks on the album.

In summary, it's just an all-round great album. It's got a great deal of edge, and really makes you want to move in some shape or fashion. Even without a 'break' from the intense sound, it's wonderfully varied and plays with the notion of electro-rock in every possible way. It may not be a ground-breaking sound, but it's a wonderful one that feels just like home to me. A total winner.

ARTIST FOCUS: GESAFFELSTEIN

Another French producer - but a very good one. Born in Lyon, Mike Lévy started out by experimenting with synthesizers whilst taking vague inspiration from classic techno, and it's this creativity that's evident in his work. Having remixed various artists from Justice to Lana Del Rey, along with small releases on Turbo, the 28-year-old producer is on the brink of releasing his debut album 'Aleph' (that's Hebrew for 'Alpha').

There seems to be considerable hype surrounding the guy, which to my mind is perfectly justifiable. Whilst techno isn't normally my thing (I find it a bit too sparse and minimal... i.e. boring), Gesaffelstein takes the genre and makes it his own. That is why I fell in love with his first single from his debut, 'Pursuit.' How I met it, I don't know, but when I did, I certainly knew about it. It's ridiculously abrasive, chugging and throbbing with industrial precision. The drums are definitely key to this: they're huge. And the atmospheric rest in the middle just makes the return of the syncopated bass line even more powerful. The more you listen, the more it hypnotises.

Most recently, Lévy has released 'Hate or Glory,' which runs in the same veins as 'Pursuit'. But where the latter feels hypnotic, the former has a real edge. The sound is purposeful and driven, making excellent use of silence to heighten mood. And towards the end, the relentless hi-hat rolling and distortion make for a brutal climax. These two songs both remind me of Daft Punk, a fusion of 'Homework' and 'Human After All' - definitely a good thing to be reminded of.

Combine this with Gesaffelstein's dark image and intense art-house music videos, and he's managed to take dance music to the next level. It shocks and seduces, blurring high art with beats and distortion into something quite exciting. And this is what, in my eyes, makes a producer special. It's not just dance music, it's deeper than that, more intelligent.

The Aleph-male of techno.

MY 5 FAVOURITE ALBUMS EVER (SO FAR)

So, this isn't gonna be an accurate list, I'm not considering this very hard. This is simply what I feel to be my favourite ever albums at this point in time. Literally, this minute. Like, now. And I'm not saying these necessarily contain the best music ever - I just happen to love these albums in their entirety, as a complete body of work. What's more, this is not some rundown. Fuck am I choosing 1 favourite. Choices are absolutely not my speciality.

DAFT PUNK - DISCOVERY (2001)
An obvious choice that very very few people could dispute. An album adored beyond the EDM world, it broke ground for dance music like nothing before it, and defined Daft Punk. It was no surprise that Random Access Memories couldn't top this - it went on to influence pop music, dance music, even Kanye West. That's pretty impressive. Oh yeah, and the actual music is superb - pop perfection that still sounds fresh after 12 years. And the accompanying film 'Interstellar 5555' is great too.
HIGHLIGHTS - Digital Love // Harder Better Faster Stronger // Face to Face

M83 - HURRY UP, WE'RE DREAMING (2011)
It's difficult to sum up this album in words. It's... It's like a soundtrack to the most moving, epic film ever, and then some. It jumps between synth-pop, stadium rock, and orchestral crescendos with ridiculous ease. The vocals are other-worldly, especially on the likes of 'Wait' and 'Outro'. Songs from this album have made me cry, and that just simply doesn't happen. This on headphones on a Sunday morning, or late at night - there is nothing more powerful, or emotive, or... I've run out of words to describe it.
HIGHLIGHTS - Midnight City // Wait // Outro

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS - FURTHER (2010)
The most 'recent' release by the UK duo is their most resolved in my opinion. All of their albums have had certain lulls in my opinion, but this is near flawless. 'K+B+D' may be a bit of a nothingness, but apart from that every track has it's redeeming qualities. It balances different moods well, moving from sparse to intense to upbeat with ease. To be honest, this certainly isn't my favourite ever album. That said, it's the best these guys have ever made. Really, the Chemical Brothers seem to be more about the individual songs than the albums as a whole - this is the best attempt at making a cohesive 1-hour-long experience I've heard from them.
HIGHLIGHTS - Another World // Horse Power // Swoon

NERO - WELCOME REALITY (2011)
The debut album from the dubstep icons was an extremely strong release. From reviews that I've read, people's main issue seems to be that the album is simply a bit 'heavy' with no real let-up. But I think that's part of why I love it. There's definite contrast - they flirt with electro house in 'Fugue State,' go all-out with 'Crush On You,' and show off some of their more classic dubstep sounds with 'In The Way.' It's a strong album, with tracks flowing into each other smoothly and being comfortable both at a party or in the bedroom. An excellent contemporary mainstream dance album.
HIGHLIGHTS - Doomsday // Scorpions // Reaching Out

JUSTICE - CROSS (2007)
While I may listen to it rarely, as it's perhaps not my favourite album in this sense, the general sound and vibe of the album has a colossal effect on my tastes and style. Mental electronic music with a rock edge has definitely become something of a thing for me - this album lead me in turn to the likes of the Bloody Beetroots and SebastiAn. The album has its weak points, most notably Newjack (a song that really does irritate me a bit), but that doesn't stop it from being a greatly inspirational and unique (at least at the time) collection of work. And it has one of the best album openings. Ever.
HIGHLIGHTS - Genesis // D.A.N.C.E. // Stress