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Dedication is as solid a record as it shapes up to be, an intriguing tangent to Los Angeles beat stalwarts Brainfeeder and Alpha Pup Records’ steady output of stellar instrumental hip-hop and dubstep releases. From the tongue-in-cheek gunshot/fingersnap swagger of opener “Witch Hunt” to the sinister, otherworldly “A Devil Lay Here”, Zomby seems simultaneously more measured and frenetic than ever before. Rather than excavate his rave roots as reverently as he did on his debut, the producer bounds between styles and themes with a heady sense of attention deficit disorder (all but two tracks don’t outlive the three minute mark). Instead of detracting much from the record’s power though, it’s that nebulous, unfocused energy that drives most of the album: Dedication doesn’t quite go anywhere, nor does it seem to have to.
An obvious highlight is the Panda Bear collabo “Things Fall Apart”, on which the Animal Collective luminary sounds oddly at home toasting over a menacing dub skitter. While little of the album bears the immediate impact of Zomby’s best work (“Tears in the Rain”, “Spliff Dub”), this latest offering from the spectral producer proves much more enduring a record than he seemed capable of a couple of years back and one that makes as solid a case as is imaginable for integrating dubstep into the mainstream as one of the genre’s first great releases on a label not named Hyperdub or NinjaTune. And with 4AD’s signing of star producer Joker, Dedication certainly won’t be the last. – Consequence Of Sound
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