REVIEW: Take a ride with the beats of Miguel Migs
Party goers, this week I’m bringing you a review on Miguel Migs’ new album “Outside the Skyline.” Released late last month on Om Records, the album has now been featured on Aggie Radio. Although it’s classifiable as dance music, labeling Migs is like hanging out with a cardboard cutout of Chewbacca. It’s an easy fix that doesn’t truly capture the real thing.
I first got this album at the Quad Side Café. A few of us were sitting, listening to Amy Nguyen playing in the corner. The place had a nice array of people quietly chitchatting as Nguyen poured it out to us. I found my Aggie Radio correspondent and a trade went down. A CD passed hands like a back-alley drug deal — smiles and side five’s around. We then watched until the concert was over, then it was time to journey back home. In one hand I had an iced coffee, in the other the Miguel Migs CD. I actually set the CD down in a friend’s apartment and lost it for a good four days. Luckily, I eyed it on the ground the next Tuesday and finally listened to it.
To truly experience this album, I suggest a car ride at night. Driving around like I was in “Need for Speed” in my Ford Focus hatchback, this album hit me like a shot of adrenaline. When I turned it down and looked at my fearful passengers, I knew this album was pretty darn good.
The album starts off strong with an instrumental version of the track “Life.” The song has a great beat and smooth bass, which opens up the first part of the album.
Next, the album opens up with the track “Tonight,” which features Meshell Ndegeocello. It welcomes you with an aggressive beat and dub-step-like synths woven into this groove-loaded song. The dreamy vocals, floating slowly over the industrial clockwork below it, add just the right amount of cool that is present not only in this track but prominent in most of the album.
A phaser-laden synth leads to the next track “Breakdown,” which features Lisa Shaw. The beat is still hitting strong, but by this time the first three tracks have been close to 15 minutes.
As I was grooving, I wasn’t sure exactly where I was on the album. When I checked, I was almost startled that it was only track No. 3. Even more startling was the fact that the beats were so similar that I couldn’t tell the start of one song from the next. The jazzy saxophone chilled my fears, but the same beat in the song repeated. And repeated. And repeated. The start of the next track came on, but to my dismay the constant hand claps and shakers continued.
The funky guitars and synth lines, followed by great bass and warm pads, were amazing to dance to and so the party in the Party Dome — aka my dorm room — continued until track No. 5, “Life,” which features Half Pint. At this point in the album the song breaks down into a peaceful, glossy space.
The second half of the CD shifted into what I like to call “Part Two: The Revenge of the Style.” Up to this point the album was funky house music. The latter half of the album is a kaleidoscope of different styles taking turns expressing themselves, from jazz to reggae to more experimental. From this point there are beat changes from song to song, and each one feels different. After listening to similar beats for 25 minutes, it’s a great change of pace.
This album never stays in one place. From the dark beats of “Close Your Eyes,” to the reggae-type bass and guitar and drum stylings of “They Don’t Know,” to the Damian Marley- or Morodo-style reggae-rap of “The System,” it can truly be called a record that’s on the move. While all of these different styles and songs are taking turns, the house-dance feel is still present, which keeps the album united.
The last few tracks on the album return to the same dance party-style of the beginning, which is refreshing but at the same time makes it feel like Migs is running out of steam. Like the last half hour at the night club, people are tired and are leaving, but the beats try to keep strong. It’s a satisfying, if not mainstream, way to end.
The bottom line is “Outside the Skyline” is a house album, combined with a highly experimental mix of several themes and styles. This is a loop album at its greatest, meaning in each song the themes are repeated over and over again, on top of a simple, yet complex, dance beat. I would compare this to Daft Punk — if you took out the aggressive leads and put more funky jazz into the mix; Zoot Woman or Cut Copy — if you took out the variation and the ‘80s feel; and maybe MSTRKRFT or VNV Nation. I enjoyed this album, but it feels long and repetitive.
–alexander.h.van_oene@aggiemail.usu.edu