CD Review: E-603

Even though I am still reviewing for the station, it's been a while since I posted a CD Review (since February - yikes!). Thought I would change that...

After a yearlong wait, song-masher supreme E-603 has finally dropped his new album Torn Up. The highly anticipated sophomore release came out just the other day and I keep putting it on repeat. You can get a free copy at his website, and if you decide to buy the album (it’s pay what you want) you could be expecting a hand written love letter and a lock of hair from E-603 himself! (Haha and I’m not even kidding).

He now has two albums out (the first being Something for Everyone) and both are 100% free. The songs on Torn Up are longer than on Something for Everyone, but the tracks are still all mixed so that you can listen to the entire album straight through and it will sound like a single track.

Torn Up is a perfect example of some awesome culture jamming. Ethan (aka E-603) is able to sample sounds in some of the most creative ways. The mixing for this album makes everything play in a wonderfully constructed smooth progression; you’re not going to want to put this album on shuffle.

The second track, “Lights Out” is pretty solid, and from there, the mixing continues, with Ethan being unafraid to slow things down, using soul and older R&B instrumentals, and then switch back over seamlessly to having Ratatat backing up DMX on the transition from “The Right Kind” to “If You Wanna.”

Overall, the album is another great effort, and one in which E-603 showcases his skills with both chopping samples and his subtleness with samples in the background (listen for Crazy Town's “Butterfly” at the beginning of “Shake Your Rump”).

But who is better, E-603 or Girl Talk? Be prepared to hear that argument a lot in the future. Since E-603 is an up and coming mashup artist he will never escape comparisons to Girl Talk. That being said, if you love Girl Talk then you would be a fool not to jump on the E-603 party train. This album sounds and flows just like Girl Talk and just like Girl Talk there are so many killer moments. The only problem I have with E-603 (and Girl Talk) is because each track is always changing it never hangs long enough on those moments you love. I think it will be hard for E-603 to ever match Girl Talk in terms of showmanship or fan base, but musically, he’s right up there with him.