Album Review: Rusko

The anti-brostep album. Whatever the hell that means. This is what Songs has been pitched as by 27-year-old Christopher Mercer, aka Rusko, and to a degree he is dead on the money. Eliminated are the bloated, weighty warbles that long-haired reformed emos have used to win Grammys. In their place: a sense of melody, joy and cultural infusion. What's ironic is Rusko is leading a backlash against a scene he helped spawn. What's marvellous is that he's trying to blow up modern dubstep from the inside out.

That's not to say the English producer is denouncing beats altogether. Far from it. But what you find all across Songs is a sense of refrain. Pressure is an absolute storming track that would rock the core of any dancefloor worth a boogie, but Rusko makes you move with tender 2-step and a nod to London garage that recalls early Streets material and Artful Dodger. Thunder, meanwhile, couldn't be further from Rusko's Cockney Thug days, the hands in the air euphoria far more Calvin Harris than Caspa. When he does offer up some bread and butter though, he does so with a strong Caribbean flair, his dubstep influenced with natural sprigs of sound and driven by some familiar and not so familiar voices such as fellow Brit Rod Azlan (Skanker) and Italian reggae artist Alborosie (Love No More).

Constantly exciting with a shimmer that still holds onto his roots of sound, Songs is a smart and individual affair, Rusko managing to break away from the current pack of dubstep producers without alienating his fans in the slightest.