Major Lazer is the alter ego of transatlantic DJ/producer/remix dream team Diplo and Switch. The former is one of the most in-demand producers in the USA, having worked with the likes of Santigold and M.I.A. in recent times. To that effect, Switch - aka Dave Taylor - is his UK counterpart, having also worked with both artists, as well as providing some of the most popular underground club remixes of the last two or three years. Yet there's not much about their debut collaboration 'Guns Don't Kill People… Lazers Do' that can be traced back to the hottest joints in Philadelphia or London. Recorded in Jamaica, these ten tracks - featuring a host of guest collaborators - would sound right at home in a cramp Kingston ragga club.
The sound-shifting, stripped-back dancehall of 'When You Hear the Bassline' is immediately galvanising, its throbbing bassline and pummelling drum beat unrelentingly slick; so, too, is the solemn urgency of 'Lazer Theme', featuring the powerful delivery of Jamaican MC Future Troubles. It's the deft touches that really make this album worth the listen, though, whether it's the ululating waves and Bond villain vibe of 'Anything Goes', the honky-tonk Caribbean carnival flavour of 'Can't Stop Now', or the swooping Aphex Twin-esque judder of the brilliant 'Pon De Floor'. The AutoTuning of an infant's cry in 'Baby' is also highly amusing, if not a little disturbing.
That said, if you're not a fan of dancehall to start with, there's not really enough to convert you here - despite the intermittent innovation and fantastic beats from both protagonists. Inventive but inessential listening, despite what the hipsters say.
