Major Lazer: Free the Universe – review

As befits a homage to Jamaican music, there appears to have been an intensely relaxed air to updating the Major Lazer formula. Their 2009 debut, Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do, mixed roots, dub and dancehall with more Americanised rhythms, all embellished with local vocal talent. The same holds true for Free the Universe, with added guests from North America. There are some tracks that even appear to be direct refits of those from four years ago (for Pon De Floor then, read Wind Up now). One further samey aspect is the one that makes the album work, however: its catchiness. Just as with Guns ... there are hooks, refrains and phrases that stick in your head and infect with their admirable silliness. Scare Me is one highlight: a dubbed-up Hanna-Barbera theme tune with a foul-mouthed verse from Peaches that makes you giggle as well as gag ("feel my wikileak" indeed). Fronted by the blond, blue-eyed Diplo, the whiff of the ersatz may remain with Major Lazer, especially on a couple of overwhelmingly screamy EDM tracks, but it's the same man's ability to craft memorable modern pop that has kept this project interesting.