Nicolas Jaar's newest project under the name "Against All Logic" is some of the best house music of the decade. "2012 - 2017" is funky, rhythmic, repetitive, and fun, while still being some of the most intelligent music to ever come out of the genre.
The entire album is very cohesive, with every song except one being at least 4 minutes long yet still flowing into the other almost perfectly. You can easily get lost in the repetitiveness of one section of a song, not realizing that you're already in the rhythm of another.
The album is furthermore surprisingly lush and atmospheric, perhaps sometimes to its detriment. Many times it sounds surprisingly organic, especially for such an electronically based genre. It doesn't have any real highs or lows in it as a whole, and seems to meander. Though this isn't a bad thing, as every song that does meander is still a good one, it makes it a less cathartic and exciting listen overall in some ways.
Still though, the atmosphere and layering of the album manage to be unique throughout. Often it seems like some of the music is coming from the sky while some of it is coming from somewhere underground, all at the same time. There are many times that the album catches you off guard with odd ambient pieces are noises hidden deep in the layers, almost seeming like they're not supposed to be there. This keeps the music very off kilter and just a little strange, a surprisingly experimental and dissonant ideal to add to music like deep house.
This is an album that will take repeated listens to fully appreciate, both because of its length and complexity. When it comes down to it, many of the songs are rather simple, with a base sample and/or loop being the foundational drive the song as a whole.
The best artist to relate this album to would be The Avalanches, namely their newest album "Wildflower". It has the same, organic, summery, happy sound, with the same samples, loops, and repetitiveness. It furthermore suffers from the same faults as "Wildflower", which can also seem like it has no real build up or climax, and is just the same throughout. This ultimately is up to the listener to decide if it's bad or good, however, as it is a rather subjective ideal to listen for in music.
Overall, Nicolas Jaar usually produces solid works of music. This new project proves that house, especially deep house, could be his forte. "2012 - 2017" could arguably be Jaar's most solid work yet, out of all his projects and names, and though it has its minor flaws, leaves me greatly looking towards what the future has to offer for him. It seems like it can only get even better.
