Deadmau5 “while (1<2) Disc One" Album Review

NOTE: Tackling this album as a whole would be insane. The entire album with both discs is over 4 hours long, so I decided to put them up as their own individual discs and compare them later. But, the show must go on, and this is what I have to say about disc one.

I didn’t think I’d like anything released by house artists since turning on the radio lately, but Deadmau5 always comes out and surprises me. As much as I dislike the overplayed hype of EDM on z100 or any other top 100 station, it’s nice to see some diversity album-wise. I haven’t heard most of while (1<2) on the radio lately, instead I’ve heard some David Guetta and that one song from Disclosure but not the rest of the album (seriously guys, come on, Settle is godlike), but no real notoriety for Deadmau5. And if this first disc doesn’t show you what mainstream house producers are capable of… I don’t know what to tell you.

The first disc starts off with your standard house jams like “Avarita” and “My Pet Coelacanth” just to get you into the mood, but when you hear his remix of “Ice Age” by How to Destroy Angels you know he means business. It’s a lot different from these house jams but still has a subtle intensity that slowly fills the track. The varied instrumentation and electronic blips seems more like a Boards of Canada remix rather than what we’ve come to expect from the mau5. “Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer” jumps straight back into the fun before it takes a dark turn with “Terrors in My Head” and “Creep”, which is a gorgeous piano-led electronic saunter through dark glitches and bitcrushed snares. This is the saddest I’ve seen Deadmau5, and he knows how to convey that emotion well in his music.

The sadness continues as “Somewhere Up Here” comes into play, but the piano seems to lighten up the mood, like finding a light at the end of the tunnel and being mystified on what you’ve stumbled upon. It’s slow, it grooves, and it’s sexy with the voices whispering incoherently in the background. “Phantoms Can’t Hang” is a good single for those just getting into electronica and house music, but to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of it. But the final track “Gula” is a great mixture of what we’ve heard from this disc. Smooth piano and the most booming bass this disc has to offer, it’s the borderline of sanity and insanity.

Final Verdict: Although it lacks some of the more intense moments that >insert album title here< had, it makes up for it by the sheer diverse moments that are on the first part. The piano parts that are scattered throughout do give a sense of dread and somber seclusion, but it’s nice to hear it have the pacing of a traditional album and still be interesting for house artist today. I don’t know what the next disc will bring, but I’m hoping for the best.