Another UKF Dubstep pull, and Rueben’s Tired Of Fighting hits a softer, sadder note than the genre usually allows itself. The title isn’t lying. This is dubstep with actual feelings underneath the bass weight, the kind of track that pairs a heavy drop with a vocal that sounds genuinely worn down. I love that contrast. The whole thing rides this tension between wanting to collapse and wanting to go absolutely feral, and Rueben never fully picks a side. The bass is huge but it’s tuned warm rather than aggressive, more of a hug than a punch. There’s a vocal cut that loops the title until it stops sounding like words and starts sounding like a mood. By the second half the track gives up trying to be melancholy and just lets the low end take over, which feels like the emotional arc of a bad night out in the best way. Rueben’s a name worth filing away. This is the sound of being exhausted and dancing anyway.
January
Chrome Daydream
Chrome stars, jelly hearts and holographic colour. A nod to the glossy, optimistic graphics of the early web.