Just a Gent - Planet Oasis

Album Review

Apr 22

Just a Gent

Planet Oasis

With Planet Oasis, Just a Gent has taken the best of all his endeavors and put them together in one lively place.

We’ve created a monster.

We’ve fostered a genre where EDM fans expect producers to stick to the cookie-cutter structure of intro-buildup-drop-breakdown-repeat while also getting bored quickly.

Listeners want to be wowed and entertained every second of every single. The ADHD world of the internet and the need for immediate satisfaction has gone hand-in-hand with EDM, while genres like Rock that preceded these rules have managed to avoid them for the most part.

Now that every person with a laptop can create music, the competition for the ears of music fans is fiercer than ever. If artists take creative chances - they better hit hard, or they could be out of the Spotify playlists for good.

And while Skrillex took commodifying drops to its height with Recess in 2014 - its effects and aftermath linger to this day.

Which begs the question: how do producers establish themselves while balancing giving listeners what they want and being unique?

The answer comes down to two things Just a Gent has done really well - trust and consistency.

The talented Australian producer, Jacob Grant, aka Just a Gent, hit radars in 2014 with a cheeky remix of Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and has been carving out his sound ever since.

With a blend of remixes and original singles, he's been a model of consistency - finding that balance of a unique sound while not straining listeners to understand something completely different.

Over the last five years, Just a Gent has refined and tightened his sound. Sitting somewhere between future bass and trap, his robust skillset revolves around creating melodies with wavy synths, specific aesthetics, and creative jams. He's found a way to release singles quickly, each reliably strong and uniquely his.

While Planet Oasis is Just a Gent's debut album culminating over half a decade - two years previously came his EP, AUTOPILOT, a dirty, grimy drum n' bass/trap groove with a cohesive futuristic glamour sprinkled over the top.

While an exciting and edgy 15 minutes of listening, AUTOPILOT seemed more like something Grant needed to get out of his system rather than an intentional step in his career. With Planet Oasis, he's taken the best of all his endeavors and put them together all in one place.

Planet Oasis is a collaborative and multi-faceted effort, showcasing Just a Gent’s toe-tapping talents and his ability to create melodies.

You’ve got laid-back vibes on tracks like “Island Fever,” “Trip to Mars,” and “Lightspeed.”

You’ve got some bonafide bangers with “Nova” and “Out of Order.”

You’ve got your classic head-nodding background music while you’re cleaning tunes like “Don’t Wait for Me,” and “Sleeptalking,”

While there’s a touch of everything, Planet Oasis is a victim of its own ambition. Is Just a Gent the throwdown on the floor producer of bangers like “Aliens,” or is he the sit-back-in-a-chair-on-the-patio-in-the-Summer creator of tracks like “Cosmos”?

Planet Oasis is chalked full of great singles but not necessarily greater than the sum of its parts. Songs like “Island Fever” are perfect Summer jams but don’t necessarily identify or elevate Just a Gent or his album to an adequately defined pedestal.

At this point, does it matter? Just a Gent is giving his listeners what they’ve grown to expect: thoughtful songs executed with his own flair.