DJDS is most widely known for their recent work on Kanye's The Life of Pablo, but the news of their collaboration with Ye was out of left field. Hip-hop was far from the duo's established sound, which has always veered into a distinctly-niche fragment of dance music. Jerome LOL and Samo Sound Boy are the members of DJDS and founders of record label BODY HIGH; they are formerly known as DJ Dodger Stadium before L.A.'s baseball team sent a cease and desist letter forcing them to make the name-change. Their first project, Friend of Mine, blend driving house kicks and powerful disco-flavored vocal cuts. On their second album, Stand Up and Speak, the hypnotic effect is augmented. The repeating lyrics and slowly-escalating sounds makes it easy to forget how each song begins— suddenly you're enveloped in layers of hot-blooded or saddening melodies and unsure how you got there.
Big Wave More Fire is the L.A. duo's third album and is also the first DJDS project with listed featured artists. The lengthy and impressive roster includes Khalid, Empress Of, Amber Mark, and even The-Dream (among others). A leap away from their pre-Kanye sound, Big Wave More Fire is filled with elegant R&B-infused and auto-tuned pop hits. Many of the songs feature lyrics which is a big change for the duo. Despite the drastic switch-up, the project is incredibly catchy and manages to achieve that result with only a hint of their characteristic use of house-style repetition. Listen if you're into genre-bending and intelligent pop, on a project that is equal-parts introspective and radio-play worthy.
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