The Flying Dagger displays a solid batch of tracks that go as hard as the concept behind the project would lead you to believe. To match various fight scenes and the thrill of revenge, the beats on this EP do need to go rather hard, and they certainly succeed at that.
Nasty grooves to always keep you entertained
The Flying Dagger displays a solid batch of tracks that go as hard as the concept behind the project would lead you to believe. To match various fight scenes and the thrill of revenge, the beats on this EP do need to go rather hard, and they certainly succeed at that. The sound of anything bass related is rather satisfying; the kicks are especially pounding and, given how much the project centers around them, that’s obviously a plus. The grooves are also entertaining, there’s some great use of tribal percussion that not only lightens up the hammering beats, but also is utilized to actually create some tight rhythms, not just for the sake of variety.
The second track, “Radiate,” is the most enveloping, mainly thanks to its gradual progression and use of atmospheric pads. Despite its immediate kickoff, it’s quite clear that the beat is not going to explode anytime soon, it’s not nearly as energetic of a groove as others on the EP are and it keeps its pace always tight and steady instead of varying things up; though it may sound monotonous when portrayed like this, it actually makes it so it’s well suited for progression, as it’s one of the many layers that the track can build on. Some percussion does get added, but I’m more interested in the use of the psychedelic synths that are fluttering around; the track has some nice pauses in its first half, really emphasizing its idea of atmosphere with these quieter moments, while the latter half is more intense, making use of some rougher and more industrial textures; not to mention that, after its first phase, this cut never tones down intensity, making the last four minutes quite unnerving.
Always engaging ::
The king groove of this whole project is the one in “Do I Stay,” unquestionably so. The techno approach works wonders, because aside from the fact that the initial fusion of semi-acid squelches and constant kicks is already hard as hell, when the hi-hats come in, they give this groove a new feel—they make it way more exciting and way tighter in an instant. Truth be told, the track does not do much beyond that, but it’s one of those loops that are so damn good you would end up ruining it if you were to play too much with it; as such, the small variations that occur throughout the song are more than fine: there’s some added percussion in its second half, some repeating vocal samples, and some more bleeps and bloops—literally—and they’re well enough to keep this track always engaging.
Not everything is as exciting as these two tracks, “Cat’s Claw” is a bit clunky for example. Though it does start things off rather menacingly with its intense beat—said beat is just left to stagnate; it’s not like in “Do I Stay,” where the groove is complex enough to sustain itself, here it feels like it’s begging for some kind of lead or switch up or anything else to truly make the song complete. The various breaks that pop up also feel cobbled in, it’s like the track strips down for a quick second to then restart almost exactly like it was previously, with no real transition that would lead you to think it was indeed a sick pause. Still, the sound is overall hard, it pounds convincingly enough to make me say that it’s not a throwaway.
And, that’s how this project overall leaves me feeling. It’s like one of those characters in a movie or show that simply manages to pull anything off, thanks to their sheer power, and this EP does showcase its nasty grooves to always keep you entertained. Though a couple moments do show a lack of refinement, there’s others that are executed really well, making The Flying Dagger an overall exciting but not mind-blowing listen.
The Flying Dagger is available on Shaw Cuts. [Bandcamp]
