Poor Mimicry

Sonik Boom is the the newest instrumental hip-hop album from Bionik. Bionik, who’s worked as a producer for many years, uses Sonik Boom to explore the intersection of trap, dancehall and hip-hop. While the 11-track collection covers a diverse palette of sounds, it fails to create anything distinctive or memorable.

For the most part, Sonik Boom plays out like a cheap knockoff of more impressive productions. “Overtaker” starts with a menacing beat that disintegrates into noisy background. Similarly, anthems like “Hands Up” and “Hysterikal” fall flat soon after they start. Hints of reggae and funk in the album do little to spice it up. It certainly doesn’t help that some of the samples quickly grow obnoxious and annoying. The multitude of claps and lasers in “Sky Diver” grow tiresome before hitting the one-minute mark.

“Dark Horse” may have come closest to offering some insight into what could have been. The hypnotically dark track jumps between its aggressive samples and bouncy beats. However, even here, it lacks the catchiness that a producer such as Clams Casino possesses. While it’s admirable that Bionik is tapping into a reservoir of experiences to create this album, it doesn’t possess a style to tie the project together.

The culprit lies in the uninspiring booms and taps that set the foundation for all the beats. They simply draw from popular electronic and trance trends. Instead of carving out a new sound, the result is poor mimicry that fails to feel flattering. And if all the tracks are just regurgitations of the basics or simple structures that mimic more trendy sounds, it results in an end product that fails to be compelling. Sonik Boom manages to mash a variety of sounds without creating a coherent or interesting end product.