A.A.L (Against All Logic)

2012 - 2017

★★★

Against All Logic, the alias for DJ and electronic musician Nicolas Jaar, has released this compilation of house and disco edits that caught everyone by surprise. It's not something you would necessarily expect from a musician like Jaar and the results are pretty mixed if you ask me. But I'm sure this release is not supposed to be a challenging or engaging piece of music. It's more in tune with keeping a set going to a bunch of party goers that feel like they're going to get lucky or are already numb to the world around them. There are some interesting samples and "ah hah" moments but those are very few in comparison to the length of the compilation. 

This album is enjoyable and a fun time if you don't really care much about what you're listening to. Otherwise it can become pretty forgettable and all seem to blend together without much distinction. It's sweet and saccharine filled, close to a fault. The kicks are well planned and effective but not at all complex or experimental, and I bet they would sound amazing in a club setting. It really might seem like I don't like this album but there's no problem with this kind of music and it's hard to really judge it based on a setting that it wasn't made for. House music is meant to be felt through your body, not your computer speakers or headphones. I've listened to this many many times by the time I have finished typing this and I still think very little has really gripped me, it feels like I'm being blue-balled. Always on the edge of something that could be next-level.

It has funk and a definite groove in each track, but in an almost lazy fashion that makes this more accessible and easy to digest for the mainstream listener. I feel this way about a lot of house music, including legends like Moodymann who have seemed to fall into this category more recently. The funk is present and adequate but it's not at the level of something like On the Corner by Miles Davis. Maybe I expect too much from this music but that's normally how I feel. I think I enjoyed the somewhat more brooding and seductive tracks that laid towards the lower half of the album. These include the thumping and fluttering sound of the sleeper banger "Flash in the Pan". Or the British urban R&B feel that transports you into the empty city streets on the track "You Are Going to Love Me and Scream". 

Ending with the ten minute long "Rave on U" that really sets itself apart from the rest of the soulful and basic layers of almost every track before it. This is supersaturated like the excess salt in water that sits at the bottom after all that can be dissolved is dissolved. The synths comes in waves that even take over the bass heavy drum kicks. They almost reach an ear-piercing level but quickly come to their senses and help let the rhythm take over through the rest of the track. That's an amazing closer which was very much needed on this project. I don't think I'll honestly come back to this project, maybe a listen to a couple tracks but definitely not the whole compilation. It's surface level enjoyable and I wouldn't turn it off, just wish it was more ambitious. But there's always success in playing it safe.

Favorite Song: Flash in the Pan