And so I have once again found myself buying the guilty pleasure that is Clubland X-treme Hardcore 6, and overall I have to say it's a pretty average outing for Styles, Breeze and Hixxy. What I will say is that amongst the extensive tracklist, there are moments of sheer production genius. Allow me to outline a few of the great tracks on this album:
Darren Styles - Outta My Head: This is a storming opener that pretty much sums up what CEH is all about - good(ish) lyrics, cheesy synths and those ever-pounding beats.
Dougal & Gammer - Models Are Ugly: This actually made me burst out laughing with one of the most hyper build-ups I've heard in a modern hardcore track. It's just plain different, and that's what I love about it, plus the fact that the title line, in all honesty, is pretty true, most models ARE ugly.
John O'Callaghan - Find Yourself (DS Remix): Oh my god! This remix is a piece of genius and my favourite song on the whole album! For a dance track, the lyrics are amazing, ("Looking at life through a loaded gun, take your best shot aim it at the sun, looking at life through a loaded gun, you know you'll find yourself alone"). Also, this track gets rid of the alternating 'beat, synth, beat, synth' staple that has become a hardcore fixture, and chooses to put the synth actually in time with the kickdrum, and the end result is a stomping piece of club finery! Love it!
DJ Gollum - Passenger: Most ravers will probably hate me saying this, but I think this is a really good track! Just listening to this when you've had a drink with your mates, it almost becomes a football chant, and people love it! I played this at a party I went to recently and regardless of the yank's voice, the sing-a-long chorus got everyone up, and got the party stomping, it was fantastic! A great party tune!
Dougal & Gammer - Boing!: What is up with these two? Every other track they churn out has some rediculous noise on it (eg Wii Go Crazy, Hardcore Turn It Up, The Tunnel) and this made me hoot with laughter. I love the humour they inject into their tracks. That's one thing I love about hardcore, it pokes fun at itself and never takes itself too seriously.
That's a very, very small selection of tracks, but to listen to the rest I guess you'll have to buy the album!
Overall, an average album, but with enough great tracks within it to justify shelling out your hard-earned. Roll on CEH 7 in the summer. This is the only dance album to see in 2010 with a bang!