Album Review: Major Lazer - Free The Universe

Ladies, it might be worth getting yo'self a pregnancy kit before slipping into the club to listen to Major Lazer. Gents, you might as well just go home; you're out of your league. Oh, and please close the door on your way out.

Free The Universe is everything we've come to expect from Major Lazer, and then some. It embodies such scope and diversity that it removes main man Diplo from his previous standing as purely a modern-day reggaeton master. Without going into deep analysis of each of the album's 14 tracks, it's nigh on impossible to do the album justice.

The thumping dancefloor beats are uncompromised, and there are times on Free The Universe when you just want to throw yourself into whoever's next to you in a drug-fuelled passion (hopefully not when you're driving a car, doing the shopping or at work). What makes these moments even more enjoyable, however, is the presence of slower, restrained points like Jessica – which features Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig on vocals – or Get Free, a song whose beauty knows no bounds.

It wouldn't be a Major Lazer record without some reggae tunes, and the quota is amply filled with the help of Wyclef Jean on Reach For The Stars and on the final track Playground. Never, though, do any of these slower jams feel forced. Sprinkled among some absolute bangers like Sweat (ft Laidback Luke and Ms Dynamite) and Bubble Butt (ft Bruno Mars, Tyga and Mystic), there is a surprise behind every corner.

It's simple: if Free The Universe was played at every club in the world, every night, on repeat, we would be in heaven.