Diplo

Being his first solo release in years, expectations are quite high on globetrotting DJ/producer Diplo's latest, Express Yourself. The EP consists of six tracks of mostly moombahton productions. Standout tracks include the frantic, New Orleans bounce banger "Express Yourself," featuring rapper Nicky Da B, and "Move Around," featuring Elephant Man, which thuds on a progressive, post-dancehall vibe. The tracks "Butters Theme," featuring producers Billy the Gent and Long Jawns, and "Set it Off," featuring Lazerdisk Party Sex, are straight-ahead moombahton tracks, while "Barely Standing," featuring Datski and Sabi, is more on the harder moombahcore side. Express Yourself also features a bit of work from Diplo's favourite Canadian girl, Kay, who drops a bad-girl verse on "No Problem." It's hard to see where Diplo's production work ends and his guests' begins. The choice of using moombahton as the framework for most of the tracks is a bit of a double-edged sword: moombahton heads will most likely dismiss this release, while others who are less familiar with the genre will be easily impressed. The EP is good but not great. Diplo missed an opportunity to explore a variety of emerging EDM genres, instead releasing a slew of tracks that bang hard but fail to resonate.