(09.05.05) Here it comes… the long awaited sequel to Bellicose Pacific (Zod), it’s Emotional Joystick’s second album entitled Plays! –a must have for those who loved the fresh melodious hardcore trademark of EJ. This time it’s a bit less hardcore and more melancholic, the whole album sounds less raw in favour of a more mature sense of production. Aptly named Plays!, EJ spends a lot of the time playing live keyboards, with much style and effect, steering away from breakcore standards and creating a unique blend.
There are some rude tunes, like “Reparation,” “I’m Not Elton John” and “Is Dead,” but they’re smoothened by jazzy solos and warm reggae basslines, giving birth to beautiful music that should appeal to an audience much wider than the usual breakcore niche. As for the last Terminal 11 album, Plays! won’t play for much more than a half of an hour, but there’s so much detail in it, and such intense feelings hidden in those arrangements, that you won’t need a minute more. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait this long for the third chapter.
Plays! is out now on Zod Records.
