Major Lazer - Peace is the Mission
8/10
I have been in a three-way relationship since 2009. This sinful triad consists of me, Major Lazer and the dancefloor. Since single Pon de Floor came out in 2009, I have passionately chased the high that Major Lazer bring with every EDM banger they put out. Whether the blend has been heavily dancehall soaked, as it is more frequently now, whether it employs the tricks of the trap music trade or whether it languishes nonchalantly, carried by a melodic vocal line – as cemented with their big hit from the last album, Get Free, featuring Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman – they have a direct line to my feet, and the adrenaline button. For this, their third full-length, they’ve refined their output, opting to put out just 9 tracks, versus their previous 14, which at times seemed gratuitous and over-cluttered with ideas. The album varies between the absolute brilliant heart thumpers of Roll the Bass and Too Original, to the more intelligently curated sounds of lead single, Lean On Me, featuring Mø, and the more delicate Be Together. At times, the more dancehall influenced numbers, like All My Love, ft. Ariana Grande can sound like a frenetic zumba class, but overall, this is their most accomplished to date. The love affair continues.
8/10
