Album Review: The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape

This electronic group The Glitch Mob has electrified the music world as soon as they touched down with Crush Mode. After working with Daedelus and Flying Lotus, and their newfound fanbase, they release their debut album Drink The Sea. This monstrous album quickly grew popular, spreading all over college radio stations like Cali summer wild fire!

The album itself sounds adventurous, with ambient beats taking you on a wild ride as if you are watching a crusade unfold, of some sort. Of course, being that the mixtape is nothing more than the album but with lyrics, the mixtape, Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape should do the same by nature. The album though 30-minute-hitter-quitter have so much flavor swirled together - some rock elements, dub-step, electronic (of course), some Asian-influenced instruments, even gospel - it's like traveling around the world in that timespan. Surround sound on this bad boy (or well, any other grand sound system) will be epic!

This mixtape oozes of The Glitch Mob's hip-hop side, with blends from Wale to Mobb Deep. One key thing to note about this tape is that they shout out Los Angeles A LOT, which is a huge element in hip-hop culture (aside from the DJing element that they are mastering at the moment, though it's all computerized), with drops from The Game and Dr. Dre. There is also the electro artists like Daft Punk and M.I.A, solidifying their sound for the fans and listeners of the album Drink The Sea.

The lyrical excerpts, though not consciously significant at all, do tie in to a certain kind of journey Glitch wants you join. The lyrics complement the beats in a technical way, and barely conceptually. Expect a punchline to knock you out at almost every beat drop, and a deep flow when the climax is coming. "Fortune Days" falls victim to this, as well as "A Dream Within A Dream," featuring Busta Rhymes, Drake, The Game, Freddie Gibbs, and Jeezy (formerly Young Jeezy). The way the group ties in the hooks at the bridges and choruses of the beat is genius, and it has the potential to be very catchy.

This tape manages to mix extremely well, so well that it sounds almost nothing like the original album. I understand that The Glitch Mob is all about the beats, so to have people flow on their stuff - and fit - is dope. However, when the beat becomes ignored, then there's a problem. No one wants their music outshined by anyone, especially if it's outshined by pre-released music. Though the adventurous sound is still there, it's overshadowed by the extremely complementing lyrics. Instead of this being a remix to the album, it comes off more as a remix to the other songs. It seems more like the beats complement the lyrics. Songs like "Fistful of Silence" breeds a monstrous delivery from Rapper Big Pooh, not to mention the wicked punchlines becoming more wicked as the dubstep-influenced drums take effect.

Overall, Drink The Sea, Part 2 is a dope mixtape to download and bang while lounging around the house - playing video games, watching some NFL preseason games, or doing some household chores. Anything beyond that (i.e. a party or pre-game record) is asking for too much.

Star's Grade: the album gets an A, the mixtape gets a B+