Rezz – Certain Kind Of Magic (Album Review)

After what has become a stellar 2018 for the former Billboard Dance Breakout Artist of the Year, Rezz has not only been included amongst the globes top billed festivals, but she has also continually been shaping and evolving her unique sound. The Canadian DJ/Producer started off the year teasing a new project – now half way through 2018 the teasing has finally come to fruition with her 8-track sophomore album entitled, ‘Certain Kind Of Magic‘.

On the glitchy bass heavy single ‘Witching Hour‘ which debuted June 4th, Rezz makes use of unique sound and style accentuating the ambiance on the opening tune with spacey simplistic key lines. Overall ‘Witching Hour‘ while a rather simplistic tune, truly sets the tone of what we are to expect out of ‘Certain Kind Of Magic‘.

Next, gliding rather effortlessly into ‘H E X‘ yet another of the three singles which debuted on June 29th, Rezz and rising producer 1799-L join forces and continue where ‘Witching Hour‘ left off. Riding out the ominous and eerie vibes exuded through the tunes opening number throughout the interlude and bridge, ‘H E X‘ takes a rather drastic turn dumping its listeners into an all out bass assault. The last of the three debut singles which debuted July 20th and tied for most unique track name off the album, ‘Flying Octopus‘ similarly to ‘Witching Hour‘ capitalizes on Rezz’ ability to staunchly generate simple attention grabbing key lines. The bass house tune turns to it’s hauntingly entrancing ambiance to pull listeners in.

Opening the track with an unnerving sense-tingling rift, ‘Life & Death‘ is enough to give listeners goosebumps. The subtle touch of the tunes distortion and use of mono and stereo effects, gives the feeling of auditory enclosure. As all comes to a close on the tune, the fade out of the forever ticking clock symbolizes just that, ‘Life & Death‘. The second most unique track name, tied with earlier reviewed ‘Flying Octopus‘, ‘Spider On The Moon‘ is rather tame when it comes to the tunes overall ambiance in comparison to ‘H E X‘ and ‘Life & Death‘. Once again a rather simple production, Rezz stays true to her minimalist approach.

Easily one of the heavier songs off the album, ‘Teleportal‘ just like ‘H E X‘ takes listeners on a ride. Heavy on the bass and bit-crusher, the tune almost uses its empty space as accentuation for driving home it’s chilling fills. With lighter keys and a brighter mid-rift, ‘Teleportal‘ settles in as a rather uplifting tune compared to the rest of the albums catalog. Opening with a repetitive and distant synth sequence, Rezz opens up the production almost immediately with spacing percussive elements. However, almost as quickly as she opens up the production, Rezz sonically traps the listener with a bombardment of frequencies from every angle, giving plenty of character to the dynamically structured tune.

The final tune on the album is unlike any of the others. ‘Toxin‘ simply sets itself apart as the only top-line driven tune on the album. In fact it settles in as the only tune with vocals besides the vocals used in ‘Life & Death‘. The melancholy track concludes the album as more of a Rezz styled ballad than anything. If anything the final track of the album proves Rezz’ extremely dynamic and evolving production style.

Overall, Rezz ‘Certain Kind Of Magic‘ certainly does possess some kind of magic. With each track coming into its own, the more you listen throughout the album, the more the overall production on Rezz’ hauntingly brilliant album serves to place the 8-track project above her debut album ‘Mass Manipulation‘.

Of course, this is all based on opinion and while you can read into an individual track review, no one’s opinion is as valuable as your own. With that being said, take a listen through Rezz’ incredibly entrancing sophomore album ‘Certain Kind Of Magic‘ below: