araabMUZIK - Dream World

Elements of trap, hip-hop, and electronica all come together on araabMUZIK's third effort, Dream World, but perhaps not to the greatest of results. The album takes the trashiest parts of all of its elements and combines it into one, flat, sloppy compilation of boring tracks.

For some, just the use of the word "trap" can be enough to deter their attention. This album doesn't do that any favors. Most notably at the core of the tracklist are tracks clearly intended to instigate a late night club and rave vibe, some doing better than others. This theme is first seen in 'A.M.', which tries to be the hype up song any rave needs but just fails in context of the album, given that it's sandwiched between some relatively chiller tracks. This track and the track that does what 'A.M.' wishes it could do better 'Stadium House' are found between the lame, minimal hip-hop beat track 'Try Me' and the slow and chill (admittedly refreshing) 'Mind Trip'. 'Try Me' falls in line with many other dull tracks including 'Loud' (literally featuring someone named Loud Lord) and 'Train Wreck', the latter of which clearly warns you of its quality in the title.

Lots of this album is just plain standard; even lower than that, at points. Songs like the raving 'Senor Breakfast' with Baauer could've been a solid track had it had some form of progression going on - it's mostly just one synth hook on repeat for three minutes without any real elaboration on anything. 'Left Side' had a lot of potential with the sweet piano and bass duo it has going on, but there's no action found within it. A simple piano lick or drop could've easily elevated the track to something more than two loops repeating for three and a half minutes. That's where all the problems lie with this record - araab thought he had something going with the hook for each song, but relying on a single hook in each song and repeating it in every measure of it was not the way of making the songs click. The only song I can say I legitimately enjoyed was 'Chasing Pirates', and that's all thanks to the creaminess of Raiche's melody and voice throughout the song.

araabMUZIC doesn't really seem to understand the concept of a good hook. You get one rolling and repeat it at pivotal moments of the song: a chorus, a repeat, a coda, et al. What you don't do is repeat in every single bar of every single measure of the track. That's where Dream World fails. You're better off skipping this one, unless you need some crappy background music for a party.

Favorite Track: Chasing Pirates

Least Favorite Tracks: Train Wreck, War Cry, A.M.

Rating: 30 / 100