XP8- Drop the Mask

Artist: XP8

Album: Drop The Mask

Label: Metropolis 

Reviewer: Jim Zombie

Date: 01-17-10

 

 

XP8 - Drop The Mask Crack the plastic, insert disc, press play and the music will do the rest. Bind is a brilliant album opener - so dancy that you will grove away even if ever so subtly. Blind, is one of those dance tracks that will appeal to many being damn easy to listen to and even easier to dance to. Most of the other floor oriented tracks, like One True God, are more abrasive but that‘s ok because we like that too, don‘t we (?).

If dance isn’t your thing (don‘t lie you know you want to!), don’t worry there is something here for everyone. Drop The Mask takes many subtly shifts in style throughout but never leaves that sense of having accidentally skipped over a few too many pages. Agrotek followed by melodious synth pop never seemed more natural. This is an album that will suit almost every listening occasion from chilling out to hitting the dance floor.

Drop The Mask is a well polished and produced album - vocals, lyrics, programming, instrumentation - everything is delicious. There is hardly a moment of ambivalence, barely a second to skip. You will never find yourself asking, what were these guys thinking? Every track is fresh and a bit different from the last. Drop the Mask is never repetitive. Perhaps this is because a lot of outside talent has been brought to this album. Co-conspirators including Daniel Graves (Aesthetic Perfection), Fader Head, Fetish Dolly and others have helped XP8 to bring us an enthralling album of many related but similar tastes. Out For Blood, lyrics and vocals by Fetish Dolly, is probably the most obvious collaboration on the album, a sexy, mischief’s aside that brings another dynamic to the album. Drop The Mask is a great start to another year let’s hope we hear plenty more albums of this quality.

Check out the band: https://www.myspace.com/xp8