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Apr 16, 2013The multiple guest stars on each and every one of these 14 tracks have been upgraded from the regional heroes found on 2009 Lazer debut Guns Don’t Kill People Lazers Do to bona fide industry studs on Free the Universe. Some might view this third-world talent invasion as a form of dancehall imperialism, but there is depth here, respect, knowledge and oodles of heart... and enough freaky fun to dagger 52 weekends away.
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Apr 16, 2013Free the Universe is, after all, a party album, and by using an energetic mix of faces both famous and obscure, Diplo keeps his grungy dancehall rave running on all cylinders.
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Apr 15, 2013Those who blew their minds and/or speakers pumping the project's 2009 debut will find it familiar ground, but how Free the Universe arguably tops Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do is with the meatier, more subdued cuts.
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Apr 11, 2013Fronted by the blond, blue-eyed Diplo, the whiff of the ersatz may remain with Major Lazer, especially on a couple of overwhelmingly screamy EDM tracks, but it's the same man's ability to craft memorable modern pop that has kept this project interesting.
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May 3, 2013This is wall-shaking club music for screaming crowds and vast towers of sub-bass. It’s hard to imagine listening to the whole thing end to end unless you were also working a case of beer at the same pace.
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UncutApr 25, 2013It's all enjoyably preposterous. [Jun 2013, p.75]
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Apr 18, 2013Recorded at Jamaica's Tuff Gong studios, the record's strongest asset is making things that shouldn't work together sound natural.
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Apr 16, 2013It's less strictly Jamaican than Major Lazer's debut, connecting reggae's often-insular tradition to a wider world.
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Apr 15, 2013It's eclectic, but the linking thread is insistent dancehall beats and a sense of dumb, colourful fun.
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MojoMay 20, 2013A relentlessly effervescent electro/dancehall mash-up. [Jun 2013, p.89]
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Q MagazineMay 13, 2013It's when Pentz dials it down that it gets interesting. [Jun 2013, p.101]
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Apr 16, 2013The inclusion of larger singles-moving, profit-generating artists leads to mixed results on Free The Universe.
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Apr 15, 2013Album number two ramps up the risibility factor even further and will make most sense at one of the group's barnstorming live shows.
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Apr 12, 2013There’s enough inventive, Jamaican-inspired music on Free The Universe to make it worth hearing--but here’s hoping Diplo keeps things Kingston-centric again next time around.
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Apr 11, 2013Major Lazer stands for firing on an all cylinders but doesn’t warn against the oomph taking leave of absence, though it does play off the shoulder of the first LP just lovely.
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Apr 10, 2013Free The Universe reeks of chasing the success of Baauer’s 'Harlem Shake'--shich, incidentally, came out on Diplo’s Mad Decent label--like a rabid dog. As such, it’s just another notch on macho rave’s bedpost.
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Apr 16, 2013A no-brainer, easy-to-enjoy production slate gets knocked around by its flaws just enough that even the minor, acquired-taste touches seem like just another bad decision.
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Apr 11, 2013There are the seeds of two worthwhile projects here, but no chance of them ever uniting under the Major Lazer banner.
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Apr 25, 2013Too bad the missteps and poorly executed collaborations stink badly enough to make the borderline stupid/genius party rockers get tainted by proximity.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 15 out of 19
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Mixed: 4 out of 19
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Negative: 0 out of 19
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Apr 18, 2013