Knife Party has always been about the harder side of electronic dance music. After three relatively impressive EPs, Pendulum’s Gareth McGrillen (Speed) and Rob Swire Thompson (Anscenic) gave us a full length album. Now I usually listen to trance, hardcore, techno, etc… but KP whetted my musical appetite with their previous releases and the Abandon Ship preview singles. An iTunes leak (which was extremely frustrating) got this album off to a rocky start only making me more skeptical of the content. After all, most ‘EDM’ albums of late have been garbage (see David Guetta, Tiesto, Skrillex, Diplo, Steve Aoki, Hardwell,). As for the music-1. The intro Reconnect was a huge disappointment, really it was just the original Knife Party intro with new vocals and some synth difference. 2. Resistance kicks up the party and redeems the lazy Reconnect intro. Electro house at its finest; most similar to KP’s older productions and the second breakdown is phenomenal. Next up is…3. Boss Mode = trap. Yes, big shocker, trap in a new EDM album. KP does the latest fad in electronic music distinctively. It’s unforgiving, the low end frequencies hit hard. There isn’t much arpeggiation like most trap songs but at least it isn’t horrible.4. EDM Trend Machine also hits hard – for the first ten seconds. Clearly this one is inspired by deep house. The bass is smooth, the vocals contemporary – the chords are soul infused. Something different from Knife Party and the brostep drones will hate.5. 404 returns to previous hard electro. You ride a musical high while listening to the lead while the climax bring you back to reality. The “go-go!” samples hint at 90s Eurodance. Maybe too much distortion for some though.6. Begin Again is the highlight of Abandon Ship. Rob contributes his voice for the first time on this project so that’s kind of a nostalgia slap in the face. Not abrasive at all, Begin Again gives off a dreamy aura similar to Pendulum’s “The Island.”7. Give It Up likely started its life as a VIP of Bonfire but was included on the album. The only dubstep song by the way. Everything: the intro, climax, ragga vocals, it’s all Bonfire. Bonfire is KP’s most popular song which was made famous by a certain American TV show. Dat sub-bass doe…8. D.I.M.H. (Devil’s In My Heart) once again incorporates the soul vibe into house. D.I.M.H. takes on a progressive edge so there’s not much here in the terms of originality. Popish and mellow, D.I.M.H. will appeal more to the Martin Garrix listeners rather than KP diehards.9. Micropenis is clearly fused with moombahton. While great fun, Micropenis lost my attention after the funky second breakdown. KP obviously hasn’t lost their humour as evident here and in… 10. Superstar features Bryn Christopher from I See MONSTAS. After Begin Again this is the album highlight. The disco-like synths and catchy riffs are perfectly awesome. Guaranteed floor stomper.11. Red Dawn is like D.I.M.H. – there’s not much here. For some reason Red Dawn sounds somewhat similar to Infected Mushroom. The finer details stand out against the boring composition like the good use of reverb or fade. Much more style than substance.12. Kaleidoscope rounds out the album as an electro/dream house selection. Reminds me of Encoder from Pendulum’s last album. A calm cool song with mature atmosphere to spare – KP finishes strong.In summary, Abandon Ship is better than the majority of 2014’s mainstream EDM albums. House variation rules at the end of the day. Fans of KP, Zomboy, Skrillex and such will likely not appreciate the incorporation of progressive house but will worship Boss Mode & Give It Up. Begin Again, Superstar, and Kaleidoscope are the stand-outs while Give It Up & Red Dawn ought to have stayed in the idea box. Since the chances of Pendulum coming back are slim to none, buckle up and prepare for an immersive adventure through the realm of Knife Party.“…but I'm so glad we did it. Even if it turns out they were right and EDM is fucked and no one buys it and we have to sell organs for food.”-Rob Swire

I enjoyed reading your review, but I must say, without trying to be rude at all though, that I believe the correct lyrics in the song "D.I.M.H." are "Dance In My Heart", rather than what you said; "Devil's In My Heart". Anyways, great review, I agree with a lot of the points you made for each song on the album. :)