Italian Maxi-House producers Crookers have taken a massive departure from their previous semi-radio friendly album Tons Of Friends, aptly named due to the sheer number of guest vocalists and collaborators such as Pitbull, Will.I.Am, Kelis and Soulwax. Their latest album Dr. Gonzo cuts back on the guest stars and also the tracks, cutting Friends' mammoth twenty-one tracks into a much easier to digest thirteen. The best way to describe Dr. Gonzo would be as a subwoofer mandatory record, booming basslines punch out under high pitched and twisted vocal samples and screaming synths, beating Dutch house superstars such as Sidney Samson and Afrojack at their own game. The drums need a special mention, tribal percussion echoing over a mixture of beats, from house to hardstyle, constantly changing as Crookers demonstrate their versatility.
Opening track Dushi acts as an exemplar for the rest of the album to follow, setting an almost creepy atmosphere as by now standard Crookers techniques are demonstrated, shuffling rhythms, deep booming bass and squealing electronics. Second track Wake App is a pretty standard Dutch/Fidget house track, nothing really too remarkable about it but we can let that slide when its follow up Dr. Gonzo's Anthem is such a delight, featuring Swedish House style melodies in the breakdown and then launching into a shuddering assault upon the senses as it drops. This turns into a good streak as Crookers join up with Glasgow lad Hudson Mohawke for Hummus, combining Crookers knack for dancefloor decimation with Mohawke's superb grasp of melody as the track builds and builds, featuring Timbaland style snare rolls and that “Dr...Gonzo.” sample; the second drop is absolutely sublime and makes Hummus the standout track of the album.
Other standout tracks include the monstrous That Laughing Track, featuring the most disturbing sample I've heard outside of a Throbbing Gristle record over a thumping bassline, developing until the sample is no longer recognisable as it mutates into a delicious cacophony of sound. Follow up Get The F^*k Out Of My House will most likely take second place in that category, though it lacks the sheer fun of That Laughing Track. Penultimate track Texx deserves a mention for its departure to hardstyle midway through, showing a grasp of melody that most hardstyle producers would do well to learn.
In amongst this glittering cavalcade of inventiveness and fun there are a few tracks that seem to fall flat, Carcola is a pretty plain track, which would work well as filler in a DJ set but falls flat compared to the experimentation and innovation shown in the rest of the album. Gonzo C.A.M.P is also ruined by a vocal that doesn't seem to contribute much, but these two are the only mediocre tracks on an album, an album that if Rustie's Glass Swords hadn't came out a month previous would be the dance music album of the year. If Glass Swords is futuristic and new, then Dr. Gonzo is primal, its jungle and tribal influences showing through on every track. Dr. Gonzo is not an album for easy listening; it is an album to be played loud and danced to as it thumps away and surprises throughout, its basslines shuddering and its instrumentation inventive. Crookers have taken a risk on an album that may not be the most accessible to the casual laptop listener, but hear it loud and enjoy it for what is it, a sonic instruction to move and to not stop moving until Dr. Gonzo has done his full check up.
