Review - Example - The Evolution of Man (Deluxe Edition)

Example’s fourth album is a who’s-who of EDM producers today. Somehow he has compiled the likes of Calvin Harris, Alesso, Laidback Luke, Tommy Trash, Feed Me, Dada Life, and Dillon Francis (among others) for one album. Wow.

The results are pretty damn good, though not necessarily always radio friendly, which is very surprising. For those who haven’t heard of him…thanks for reading my blog. I talk about him pretty much all the time. But, anyways…Example is kind of like the British Pitbull, or Usher or Chris Brown (when they are doing their dance tracks). He puts out music constantly, and it usually fares pretty well on the charts. Comparing him to Pitbull is kind of unfair though, as the quality of Ex’s…well…everything…is way above Mr. Worldwide’s.

Songs like “Say Nothing” are what everyone was expecting – dance, but Top 40 dance. “Queen of Your Dreams” and “All of My Lows” follow suit, and I’m sure that they will have their day. Example also took a moment to incorporate some guitars into his pop/dance theme, which is refreshing and fun. Sometimes soft, sometimes hard; either way, it’s a refreshing take on some music we’ve already heard from other artists.

Things fade away from radio-fodder when they get hard though. I’m talking HARD electro. Most of them have that guitar sound in there, but it’s really dark. Almost scary. “Come Taste The Rainbow” features the singer rapping (which is where he got his start) over a grimy rock track. “Blood From A Stone” is the same – the kind of track where you’re waiting for someone to come in and start screaming or growling. “Are You Sitting Comfortably” is the extreme of all this. So much so that it is uncomfortable to listen to.

Much of ‘The Evolution of Man’ sounds like it could have been a band aided by a producer, but don’t be fooled – these are some of the best of the best, working in collaboration with Example. I have no doubt that it was his artistic direction that took this CD where it ended up, and while it may not fare as well on the UK charts as some of his previous efforts, the album does stand out from anything I’ve heard recently.

‘The Evolution of Man’ is only <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Man-Example/dp/B009FIHZWY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354558718&sr=1-1&keywords=example">available</a> as an import for now.

Listen to: “Perfect Replacement”, “Say Nothing”, “Queen of Your Dreams”, “Eutopia (Fade Away) (ft. Laidback Luke)”