Underground electronic-music trio the Glitch Mob built its reputation over the past three years by cutting up other people's tunes for the benefit of the dance floor. Justin Boreta, Ed Ma, and Josh Mayer's remixes for acts such as TV on the Radio and their high-octane Crush Mode mixtape set live audiences and the Internet ablaze, garnering the attention of the national press, including New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones. Which is why it's hard to believe that Drink the Sea, released this past May 25 via the group's Glass Air label, is the Glitch Mob's debut album.
The album rewards those who listen to it all the way through. From the raging drum kicks and slippery synths of opener "Animus Vox" to the future ballad "Between Two Points" (with vocalist Swan) to the clean patterning of closer "Starve the Ego, Feed the Soul," Drink the Sea takes listeners on a soul-satisfying journey reminiscent of a well-contoured DJ set. But Boreta cautions that, unlike last year's Seattle show, the Glitch Mob's performance this time will emphasize instruments over laptops.
