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Time for the seventeenth 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 didn't listen to Skrillex.
This week, we get weird.
G***yhook EP (2009)
Not gonna attempt to make heads or tails of that title.
This is Sonny's major label debut from what I see; the start of his time with Atlantic Records that would only end in 2025. It's an odd one and I can't quite place my finger on why. Maybe it's because it feels somewhat transitional. This is only a couple years after his departure from FFTL which is what he'd been known for at that point. So for all intents and purposes here, this was the "new sound" of Sonny Moore. But what does that entail?
A selection of tracks that somehow feel less rewarding than the demos leading up to them. This is another one that feels more like an interesting look into the Skrillex DNA as opposed to a standout. We hear a little bit of the Twipz demos on 'Copaface2' (what an odd title considering I don't think 'Copaface 1' was ever even released). We hear those "Crazy Lady" and "AGK" sample chops again on 'Mora'. But I don't know. They just don't make me feel anything here. Similar situation with the vocals oddly enough. Normally, vocal tracks from Sonny are always welcome for me. I love his little emo whine and that is still the case here but even then, its just not doing much for me here. I don't know if it's the lyrics or what. The hooks are there I suppose. The title track is kinda catchy but it's also got a lot of "na-na-na"s doing the heavy lifting there. 'Mora's hook is also kinda catchy but I don't know. I don't know if I wanna hear Sonny croon about cum and throwing it up on your knees. Maybe I'm not strong enough yet. Also why is there a Japanese version of Mora?? Why does the sucking dick song get a Japanese language version?? The random reggaeton switchup in there is crazy though.
The latter half of this EP is remixes which are Fine. They Are Okay. The DMNDAYS and Toxic Avenger remixes are probably the ones I like most. They have some of that grit that I feel like the original tracks lack. I think that's the main shortcoming I notice here. The production just isn't quite there yet. It's lacking a good bit of punch that I think would make it a more pleasing and memorable listen. You can hear how one would go from here to the later MySpace tracks though. I just think those tracks are better in pretty much every way. You know what though, the more I talk about this EP, I think I'm finding myself coming around to it. It's still more of a cool curiosity than something I'd actively want to come back to though. It's got strong bones. It's still very Sonny which, if you couldn't tell by the existence of this book club, is something I can appreciate. It has its moments. They're not all good moments but they are moments nonetheless.
I was going to attempt to justify the cover art also but no, why did he do that? Why he throw up milk? Why he throw up milk 3 times? Why he jumpscare pose in the background? Why is this EP called that? So many questions...
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!
Postscript:
Okay, gathering links for this thread and the YouTube version just sounds better than whatever I had saved for some reason?? So while I'll leave my punchiness criticism in the main body cuz I do still think there are some weak spots, I think most of it can be attributed to my copy.
