Album Review: Major Lazer - Free The Universe

Major Lazer's debut Guns Don't Kill People… Lazers Do was a bolt from the blue in 2009. Few debuts have sounded as accomplished, and almost none have been as much fun. This follow-up has been hotly anticipated, but also beset by delays; each announcement of a changed release date brought with it an explanation or an apology on social media, occasionally with some free music thrown in. Now Free The Universe is with us, finally, and it carries heavy expectations with it. It meets them all. Majestically.

The formula is: good songs on good tracks performed by good guests. Watch Out For This (Bumaye) is a case in point. It is frenetic and dynamic, while also being controlled and tempered. The hook sounds monstrous but, on closer inspection, has only a few components: fierce drums, an off-beat Dirty South-style chant, horns, and Busy Signal's hypnotic refrain. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Get Free, the first taste from Free The Universe we had nearly a year ago, still holds up manfully; as hypnotic and engaging as ever. You're No Good is a crisp opener. Wind Up is exceptional. Mash Up The Dance the same. Playground is a down-tempo cool down. There's no dead wood.

The excellence – and, more importantly, the fun – is unrelenting. Select a track. Dance. Select another. Dance again. Another track. More dancing. It sounds like an easy trick to pull. It's not, far from it. Diplo, now the only 'real' Lazer left after Switch's departure in 2011, has come up with a masterpiece here. Let's hope the third is not so delayed.