Search - Steve Lawler :: Dark Drums 2

Dark, sexy, and tribal!!!

juddjs | Vt | 02/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dark and tribal trance/techno like only Steve Lawler can deliver!! A solid cd with great bass and driving beats that keep you interested. Often you see artists have a few good songs but can't be consistent, not Lawler. He consistently brings only the best. Deep dark flow without flaw. Also other great Lawler cds "Nubreed" and lights out vol.1. If you like tribal sound and "DARK" beats grab this cd!!!"

Not everyone can throw trumpets into a mix...

A. Ort | Youngstown, Ohio | 10/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...and have it sound so good.



I had a copy of this CD for a long time and tried several times to listen to it. With nothing but drums for the first few minutes I never listened beyond. Comfortable with some other DJs, this sounded dull. After a while, I was looking for something new and put this on during a long drive. Oh my...



The drums that open the mix are there to get you into the groove. It builds and builds and reels you in. Right around thirteen minutes or so in Mr. Lawler drops a wicked bass line and the party begins. From this point on, he drops in more and more, tossing in some vocals here, some sound effects here, finally ending with some trumpets, all with some funky drumming that isn't that monotonous 98 BPM that carries many mixes (and gives you a headache after a while).



I don't know much about the styles and all the various kinds of electronica that purists seem to get off on, I just know what sounds good. And this sounds gooood. I hesitate at the fifth star because it just didn't have that something that makes me go wild for a mix. But it's almost there. Not being able to see any of these DJs live in the heart of the Midwest in the U.S., CDs and such are all we get. I'm hunting down his other stuff as we speak.



A good break from the hodgepodge of mixes out there."

The Vocals Are What Hinder This Album

CloudMan | Vancouver, BC | 07/07/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first volume of Dark Drums that I've listened to. I am tracking down a lot of Steve Lawler's older releases as I love the genre of electronica that he tends to play. Picking up where Danny Tenaglia left off. Tribal House (albeit, Lawler likes the darker tones).



I was excited when I first listened to this album as the first couple of tracks were exactly what I was hoping the whole set would sound like. Unfortunately, Lawler chose to mix mostly tracks with vocals. I have no problem with vocals, but with Tribal House they can't be so overly dominating that they even drown out the all-essential drums (it is Dark Drums after all, right?)! This occurs for the majority of the remaining tracks. Couple this with the vocals' lyrics frequently being cheesy, and album becomes much less enjoyable for this reviewer despite its excellent tribal drum loops.



3.5/5 stars"