Or, I Can’t Feel It

New York underground house DJs Nick Hook, Vin Sol, and Matrixxman have teamed up to collaborate on a new EP, I Can Feel It, available through Classicworks Records. Expectations for I Can Feel It are high, given Hook’s huge popularity within the New York club scene as well as for his past collaborative efforts with the likes of bands such as Cubic Zirconia and Drop the Lime. Recruiting 5kinandbone5 member, Matrixxman, and up-and-coming Vin Sol, Hook sets out to create a stripped down EP with I Can Feel It, forsaking all the fancy tricks of modern technology in favor of old school drum machines and simple computer effects. With the talent on board, the results for I Can Feel It should be an imaginative, nostalgic visit to a simpler time, but unfortunately the EP fails to deliver.

Despite the talent present, I Can Feel It leaves you not really feeling much at all. The stripped down approach gives the three track EP a dated feel and the actual songs themselves are monotonous and predictable. The opening track, “I Can Feel It,” is a generic club song that offers no justice to the minds behind it. The repetition of the phrase “I can feel it” causes grated nerves rather than an urge to dance. Not much relief is found in the second track, “666 Wayz”—an aggressive Afro-electronic beat that leaves the listeners nerves feeling like shredded cheese with its spastic mixing. The third and final track, “High Volume,” insists on turning up your volume nobs to maximum for best results, but alas, even then the song quickly becomes boring background buzz.

I Can Feel It should have been three tracks of awesome—the concept was interesting and the talents behind it were capable, but high talent doesn’t always mean great results. While Nick Hook, Vin Sol, and Matrixxman all have excellent works under their individual belts, I Can Feel It is probably best enjoyed at low volume.