NoMad At Juno Download

Review: De Niro offers up another serving of delicious dubstep flavours on No Mad, which are dominated by gratuitously grizzled synths, eerie melodies, wobbly basslines and a pervasive sense of unease. First up in this two-track release is the title track "The Aggressors" which is all Caspa-style grating mid range and ominous House of Horrors style SFX before it develops into the main bass-driven part with booming subs and quirky synth flourishes. "Metro2" blends clapping, smacking snares with sweeping atmospherics in the intro and then some gritty moments as the track progresses. Expect the unexpected here!

Review: Slow paced, swaggering dubstep of the highest order here from De Niro & Y in "Dogday", a low slung, weighty slice of ominous bass music thuggery. Squelchy subs bubble through the bassline like pools of stagnant oil, whilst grinding synth lines provide further texture. In "Back To M101" the rippling, trance-influenced synthline sets the tone for a wobbly little number. "Kinsky", up next, is a more experimental number with quirky SFX, whilst "Radio Beam" is back to the sci-fi sonics and whomping b-line pressure. Bass monkeys will love this.

Review: It's a mark of dubstep's continuing global spread that this release harks from Italy and features a remix by Budapest-based DJ Madd. Epitome's original version of "Sublife" is quietly impressive, building atmospherically for 90 seconds before suddenly springing to life. The shuffle of the beats and the discordant vocal samples help create a heady feel that's nowhere near as dark or paranoid as much dubstep. That's not to say it's a barrel of laughs, mind, but it's certainly far more positive than your average underground wobbler. Madd's remix is decidedly sparser, offering a smoky combination of low-end wobble, ricocheting percussion and spooky chords.

Review: On the basis of this release, Matt U seems to have found the 'sensual' button in his banger factory! Switching up from his darker vibes, "Something About You" is trembling, tripped out exercise in fractured future garage. With cold chords but a warm, processed vocal, it oozes end-of-night smoochiness. Hungry for the darker vibes? Then flip for De Niro's remix. Driving over the limit with purring bass and thundering halfsteps, it's the perfect remix for Matt U's most distinctive, lightest record to date.

Review: Tactician eh? Just what we like to hear... Taiko is a technical fighter who dissects any challenge like a brain-freezing game of chess. Rook to king four: "More Beans" swipes out the bishops and knights with its ruthless staccato one-note sweep. Rook to queen two: "Tactician" takes out the remaining pawns with a brass spittoon of bass belches. Check: "Deplete" sneaks round the back and takes the queen with a mechanoid funk kick. Check mate: Juno apologises to genuine chess fans about the miss use of chess terms in this review.