Back catalogue: Dubstep

Review: Skid Row is a carefully composed six-tracker of modern club and soundsystem oriented Bristol-influenced bass music. Believe it nor not, all basslines on this release are created by the same untypical hardware device, the Benidub DS71 Dub Siren. The tracks fuse grime and techno, picking up early reggae and 90s warehouse toasting - far from shiny algorithm optimization. 'Rictus' attunes the listeners to a playful, deeply swinging bassline embedded in reduced drums and comfy pads. 'Cockatrice' unfolds a technoid, almost trancelike impetus - dressed in broken beats and thoughtful vocal samples. 'Weedlot' sticks more to the funky side and cavorts with witty sonic effects, while the flip meets with 'Clodbuster': a conscious, truly demolishing badass tune in the spirit of only-the-rawest UK bass and grime; 'Suttree', finally, slows things down to a wide and wry space garnished with reggae horns and contemporary dance music samples. The record closes with growling drums, reverberant chords, tripping vocal snippets, and a sub-bass targeted on blurring your sight: 'Calico'.