Release Date: June 7, 2011
Benny Benassi has been called “the Godfather of Electro,” staking claims in the clubs and charts of Europe as well as in his native Italy. It’s been eight years since his eponymous debut Hypnotica and now he’s making a gambit for the American pop charts with Electroman. He’s already gained a small victory with the success of trance dream, “Beautiful People” featuring Chris Brown—and the possibility arises that he might just have a case.
The album boosts an impressive list of guests (Brown, Kelis, T-Pain, with remixes from Skrillex and Ying-Yang Twins) a plethora of rave sentiments in peace, love, understanding, respect, ecstasy and of course, rump shaking. Not too long ago it might not have seemed impossible to get a “dance” album to the top of the American charts—but all of a sudden even Britney Spears has dubstep breakdowns and a glance at the top 10 tunes will show, if not verbatim, elements of club music in every one. Maybe by enlisting so many hip-hop artists to the album, the modus operandi of modern American charts, Benassi hopes to weasel his way into the hearts of a wider audience.
As for something new—Electroman is not. It’s not tired or cliché, it’s just not exactly pushing sounds forward.
Take the ascending riff in “Cinema,” a la Bodyrox’s “Yeah, Yeah”; it’s an old formula that works like a charm across the electro board. One of Britain’s rising pop men, Gary Go, lends a hand on the track, “You’re my favorite movie/A thousand endings.” Cute. And let’s face it, getting T-Pain on a track (“Electroman”) is just about as safe as wearing pastel wayfarers to a rave. The album is also strangely devoid of Benassi’s signature bass lines and meshed up drumwork, a la “Satisfaction.” Stricken of these signature elements, the result is at best a watered down, kinky raver—and nothing phenomenal at that.
Fans and haters alike have to wonder if part of the reason Benny sounds so quintessentially electro and, dare it be said, corny, is because he is quintessentially electro. (Which also excuses a totally lame album name.) Put four on the floor, waves of recurrent synthesizers over it, announce, “House Music,” and there you go, you’re Benny Benassi. And if that sounds easy it’s probably because of him. Opener “Good Girl” with its droll commands of “rollover,” “come here,” “shake,” and “bang,” keys listeners in immediately to the language of Electroman; a sound that doesn’t let up until it’s over. Danceable, sing-alongable, fun and easy, well, we’ll have to see how American DJs respond.
Benny Benassi – Electroman Tracklist:
- “Good Girl”
- “Rather Be”
- “Spaceship”
- “Beautiful People”
- “My House”
- “House Music”
- “Cinema”
- “Electroman”
- “Automatic B”
- “Control”
- “Leave This Club Alone”
- “Close To Me”
- “Cinema [Skrillex Remix]
- “All the Way”
