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Time for the the fifth instalment in the "Skrillex Book Club".
ICYMI, we're taking a listening journey through the discography of the great Sonny Moore and sharing some of our thoughts along the way.
Last week, we looked at Bangarang.

This week, we slip a little bit underneath the radar to look at...

Leaving EP (2013)



I think I actually listened to this one when it first released. I was in my family's van either on the way to or back home from church lol. I remember being really hyped to hear an official version of 'Scary Bolly Dub' as it had been floating around in various forms for a while online prior to that. That's one of the things I associate closest with this EP. Scouring the Mothership forums and various Zippyshare links for unreleased tracks and leaks on my iPod Touch. Simpler times...

Kind of an oddity this one. Or like a stopgap release I suppose. Coming after the name he had made for himself with Bangarang and Scary Monsters, it's easy to see why this one was panned pretty hard when it came out. I remember a lot of "where's the drop" types (myself included admittedly - though I still enjoyed it) listing their grievances with the more lowkey sound of this EP. But I think it's also pretty clear that this one's kinda just for fun. From what I read, it was pretty much entirely recorded in a hotel room with 'The Reason' only being finished a few hours before release.

On that note, that song fucking rules. Easily the best one on here. It's definitely a little more tame in a few ways compared to what he had been releasing up to that point. But god those saws, that pluck melody, everything just comes together so well. I think if nothing else you could see his improvement on a technical level here. There are at least 3 tracks I've made where the idea behind them was just "oh what if I did something kinda like The Reason here". The rest of the EP never quite gets to this level again imo, but it's still pretty decent. The previously mentioned 'Scary Bolly Dub' is a nice little dubby trip down memory lane. Sonny described it as a DJ tool and yeah that checks out. A nice listen but doesn't really go anywhere. The title track is fine. Everyone hears dark syncopated foley type drums and goes "OMFG BURIAL COPY" and like, I guess? I mean it definitely reads as Burial-inspired but I don't think there's much more beyond that. I guess that's just what happens when you're the poster child for a genre during the ""Internet-Age"". Skrillex does have quite the penchant for making even the more simple vocal chops he does pretty catchy even if the rest of the track is kinda boring.

All in all, it's okay. It ends as soon as it starts. I think you still gain more than you lose listening to it.


Now it's your turn!
What are your thoughts on this EP? Do you love it/hate it? Have you even heard it? (if not, go listen, the image is a link to it's RYM page)
Speak your mind!