- Joker returns to his classic dubstep sound, and he hasn't lost his touch.
- To borrow an observation from former Resident Advisor scribe Angus Finlayson, Joker's early productions often held two competing impulses in tension: "the austerity of dubstep" and a "taste for gleeful overload." The Bristol producer's first release in six years wrangles with the same tension, with the poise and control of some of his most iconic productions.
"Juggernaut" puts this duality front and centre, its angelic opening melody hovering above rousing horns and grotty, off-beat spurts of midrange bass. The plucked strings add an obvious Joker calling card, a sound signature harkening back to his first Kapsize EP from 2007. If all of this sounds cute, don't get it twisted—this is no-bullshit, sub-testing 140, but with a subtly shifting atmosphere and arrangement that pays out long past its satisfyingly huge first drop.
Though both tunes have done the rounds as unreleased dubs for some time, "S Wave" already feels like an even older grime classic. Once again, the details do a sneaky amount of heavy lifting. A more acoustic-sounding snare sits perfectly within the surrounding maximalist melee, while a second synth pans left to right like a nearby car making a speedy getaway. But it's the gliding squares-style lead that takes centre stage throughout, an exuberant earworm that feels familiar from first listen.
Like so many Joker productions, both of these work as standalone club tracks and instrumentals for MCs to ride on. Each track is pitched perfectly in the Goldilocks zone, a just-right blend of spacious and grandiose that few other producers come close to. Oblig's recent Rinse FM show illustrated this balance perfectly, as Jafro immediately switched up his flow to match the dark and aggy energy of "Juggernaut." I dare you to watch it and not get goosebumps.
Tracklist01. Juggernaut
02. S-Wave