REVIEWSVarious Artists, ‘Blow Your Head Volume 1: Diplo Presents Dubstep’

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• SPIN Rating:7 of 10

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Release Date: November 2, 2010
Label: Mad Decent

Despite crossover moves by Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, M.I.A., and Britney Spears, British dubstep feels destined for U.S. obscurity; it's too jerky, too heavy, too slow. This comp -- producer/DJ Diplo's most recent anthropological package -- is a good introduction to the genre's acidity and mostly stays clear of any attempts to make it more fun and friendly. Though Blow Your Head leans hard on the Diplo cohort (Major Lazer, Rusko, Borgore), its colossus is James Blake, whose shower of warped arcade-game synths and butchered old gospel vocals is stunning -- heaven for believers and headaches for everyone else.