DJ Shadow
Action Adventure
Release Date: Oct 27, 2023
Genre(s): Electronic, Club/Dance, Neo-Electro, Synthwave
Record label: Mass Appeal
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Album Review: Action Adventure by DJ Shadow
Mediocre, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 4.5/10
DJ Shadow has raided his vinyl crates and tape collection to craft this collection of 14 new tracks that don't feature any collaborators. At least partially inspired by the glory days of video rental shops, that inspiration can be heard throughout Action Adventure. The eight-minute "Time and Space" sounds like one of the John Carpenter-esque synthwave artists who mimic '80s action and horror scores, which isn't exceptionally hard to find in the genre's post-Stranger Things boom.
Opinion: Fairly Good
Josh Davis struck proverbial oil with his debut 1996 album Endtroducing, a trip hop masterpiece composed almost entirely of samples that was of such seismic importance that everything he's done since has inevitably paled by comparison. Several false dawns and a return to form or two later, Action Adventure feels like the real deal, largely because - like his debut - it's predicated on a good idea. Shadow snapped up around 200 cassette tapes on eBay featuring recordings of songs played on old Baltimore and DC radio stations from the 80s.
'Action Adventure'
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