‘The Mountain Will Fall’ by DJ Shadow Album Review: An Inventive, Original And Exciting Return

On his mostly instrumental 5th solo album The Mountain Will Fall, DJ Shadow, aka Josh Davis, returning after a 5-year hiatus, is ready to fascinate the listener with metallic textures and a new, less sample-heavy approach.

‘The Mountain Will Fall’ by DJ Shadow Album Review

Following the almost ambient 5-minute-long opening title track, which sets the tone for the musical journey we are to embark on, elements of deconstructed hip-hop are prevalent on the beat medley of “Three Ralphs” and even more noticeably on one of the few truly vocal tracks “Nobody Speak,” featuring Run The Jewels. The latter is a fine example of Shadow’s ability to take up an old-school beat and make it into a fresh and original boom-bap track, while his vocal collaborators El-P of Run The Jewels and Killer Mike of RTJ take satirical jabs at Donald Trump.

Another collaboration, this time with German producer Nils Frahm on “Bergschrund,” finds Shadow exploring an intricate mix of ambience in the background of steady rhythmic creations. Thus far into the album, all ends seem to be tied up with subtle elements of one song providing the segue into the next, making this album a true journey. It is important to note, however, that the fragmented nature of most tracks and their prevalent lack of cohesive melodies turns the experience of listening into more of an intuitive one rather than stringing us along a clear-cut narrative. The only exceptions are the two rap tracks (“Nobody Speak” and “The Sideshow”) and the haunting closer “Suicide Pact,” where he lets the melody dictate naturally the directions in which the tracks are headed.

DJ Shadow has a knack for finding just the right sonic combination for each track and any occasion and The Mountain Will Fall doesn’t fall short in any way. Compared to his former work, he has toned down the use of samples, though they are still to be found here. Ultimately, The Mountain Will Fall is an original and largely successful dabbling into deconstructing and reassembling various musical bits and pieces in order to discover new combinations and frontiers. And the end result is a careful production tinged with EDM atmosphere, which makes for a great listening experience.

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