Baq5 – Times Like This [Album Review]

Honestly, this is a pretty special post for me. When I first started at Your EDM, a track belonging to Baq5 and Murtagh was among the first five articles I wrote. It was wonderfully uplifting and extremely well-produced; gritty and exciting while having a very clear melody and purpose in its sound design

I’m so happy to say that Baq5’s new album Times Like This exceeds all of my previous expectations. I was absolutely hooked from the very first minute of the first track. Disclaimer: I’m terrible at describing house so just bear with me while I fangirl all over this.

Baq5 has created an album in the strictest sense of the word – a collection of songs that have a unifying theme, melody or purpose. Every track in Times Like This is there for a reason. Tracks like ‘Times Like This’ and ‘Until We Meet Again’ could just as easily be found in a hotel jazz lounge except for the excellent house beat. On the other hand, tracks like ‘Cupcake Fortress’ and ‘Broken Kiss’ present a deeper, more gratifying EDM sound that breaks into many different territories and sounds.

‘Into The Light’ and ‘Into The Night’ pair up wonderfully. The first being a transcendental future bass tune, with deep, booming bass and a superb chill vibe. The piano melody, ticking clock and guitar solo come together as pieces of a whole to create an otherworldly track that is presented with excellent sound design and even better production. The latter is more of a old funk track, similar to Chromeo – elements of the talk box are immediately recognizable, and the groove and consistent melody are a perfect compliment and shout out to old school funk.

‘Android 52’ is the hardest track on the album, coming in with some delicious electrohouse, totally feeling some Feed Me vibes on this one. It’s dirty, gritty and has an excellent pacing. Baq5 just knows how to write a good track. On the flipside, ‘The Journey’ is progressive house at its finest. Strong upbeat melodies and a wonderful chord arrangement are this track’s strong points, yet as a whole it’s as good as any major producer you could think of.

‘With You’ has got some seriously original vibes that I can’t quite even begin to name. Remember, I said I was terrible at describing house so the closest I’m even going to come to describing it is calypso house? I dunno. But either way, the epic horns in the build and the Latin percussion give this such a unique feeling. And that segue into the main body of the track, that pan flute and wind section is just brilliant. Lastly, ‘Tomorrow Comes Today’ starts off with a strong bassline right from the beginning and powers on with some fancy chopped up vocals and percussion leading into the drop, a fresh but familiar house arrangement.

Overall, I cannot tell you how pleased I am with this album or how many times I’ve listened to it. I’ve lost count. I’m not the biggest house fan, but come on, I know something good when I hear it. Everyone would do well to check out this album. It immediately placed itself in my top 5 house albums and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Those not interested in house would be wise to check this out to find something you like. Those who have been following the genre for years will most definitely find something to groove to on this.

Support Baq5 by purchasing Times Like This on Bandcamp.
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