Dance music production duo Knife Party has returned with their first entirely solo original music since the release of their Trigger Warning EP in 2015. Since, they've worked on releases alongside Pegboard Nerds and Tom Morello namely, but the four tracks on Los Souls are entirely their own. It's independently released via their label Earstorm, and it shows in the best way as an EP of boundless art on display.
The return of Knife Party creates a phenomenon that often happens when figures in music go quiet for some time. With this return, it's clear that everyone else needs to step aside and let these dance music veterans show us how to do things right. Knife Party's music is rooted in electro and dubstep, timed perfectly with EDM's rise in the early 2010's. They've held on to their roots in this EP, but have shown a maturation and understanding of electronic music that is hard to outdo. Take "No Saint," the first track on the EP: it has influences of the new genres on the rise and at peak popularity, hardstyle and techno. Then there's, "Lost Souls," a track that somehow steps all over today's bass music with a move toward full on dubstep. Did you ever think you'd miss dubstep? Yeah, me neither. "Death & Desire" is a deeper journey into melody, with notes of progressive and Ibiza-style house. "Ghost Train" wraps things up as a track that will no doubt be picked up by the duo's contemporaries in live sets, and sets another reminder of Knife Party's quirky use of unique sonic elements in their work. Overall, the Lost Souls EP is a reminder to everyone in electronic music to get back in line.
