deadmau5 - stuff i used to do

Deadmau5
stuff i used to do.
2017
Spotify

With his most recent album deadmau5 began to dismantle his career and break it down to its most basic elements. It felt like He wanted to re-discover what He loved about Dance music is what Dance music actually meant to him. With this new record stuff i used to do it seems like deadmau5 instead of pushing the dance aspect out in front like his more recent outings have He is focused on creating a more vivid electronic picture. The sense is that this record is stuff deadmau5 has been tinkering with over the years while his other work was swept up in the EDM explosion. A song like "Screen Door" is so weird and out there, yet takes electronic music in a different and more varied direction. EDM does not always have to be a celebration, sometimes it can be out there or even create a dark mood and that is something that deadmau5 has always seemed to embrace. There are also a few all out sound exploration tracks like "Squid" which evokes an almost Aphex Twin-esque vibe. It is these times where deadmau5 feels like He is grasping for something that is just not in his reach. He knows how to make an album sound incredibly produced but his strength comes from taking these disperate tones and forgin them into something you can move to, not just a banging sound happening for awhile. "Sometimes i fail" begins from a weird position almost like deadmau5 wants to dig himself out of a hole, but by the end your eyes are closed and the song is just filling the room before you even know what happened.

This record also has a lot more personality than a lot of what deadmau5 has done. "50 something cats" is so tongue in cheek with it's occasional howl from what we only can assume is some alley cat, just drips with fun and laughter. It has a weight to it, yet it still sort of just bounces along. "Charlie can't dance" is a bit jarring in how quickly it pulls you away from "50 something cats" but it still has that likability that is hard to put your finger on yet so palpable. Like much of his music there are times where songs can be a bit to much of, well,  everything. "HaxPigMeow" has some really interesting 8-bit elements, but there are so many things coming at you it is hard to find some firm grounding. What is really interesting is for an album that is supposed to have been pieced together over many years the whole thing flows really great. Deadmau5 ability to take all these ideas swimming in his head and really unify them is what makes stuff i used to do really feel special. Unfortunately for deadmau5 it seems like a lot of people have already made up their minds whether to love or hate him. I'm not sure how many haters this album will turn but for those who get it, sit back, get up, get dancing and enjoy.

8.0 out of 10