Skream, Skream!

Croydon's Skream, aka Ollie Jones, is the boy wonder of dubstep. Since he started laying down beats five years ago at the age of 15, he is rumoured to have made over 1,500 tracks. Those that have found their way into dubstep raves quickly attained anthemic status, most notably the fiery Midnight Request Line, included here on Jones's first full-length. Skream stretches dubstep's basic template to encompass dancehall, ska, Kraftwerk-style electro and even jazz without ever sounding gimmicky. Though the consequent patchiness can be frustrating, it would be churlish to dwell on this when the highlights are so magnificent. The woozily romantic horn fanfares of Blue Eyez could make even the greyest winter day seem like summer. But the highlight is Warrior Queen's turn on the brilliant Check It, dubstep's most pop moment to date.