Noisia - Closer

Album Review

May 14

Noisia

Closer

Closer is not a street race - but instead will go down as a final scenic drive through the lush hills of Drum n’ Bass valley.

It's rare in show business to get to announce your own end. Far too often, quick, unforeseen circumstances dissolve a musical group. Frequently, it's a hiatus that becomes an extended hiatus that becomes 'whatever happened to’.

In the case of Noisia - it was a bit of both. Towards the end of 2019, the dutch Drum n' Bass trio announced that they would no longer be Noisia by the end of 2020.

Chalk it up to creative differences, wanting different things, or simply having done everything they set out to do after an impressive 20-year career in a niche defined by a single drum pattern.

Sprinkle in a bit of pandemic to stall one final farewell tour, and Noisia never got the closure to a career that they deserved - which brings us to Closer, their third and final album.

The platitudes are endless for the endlessly talented trio who helped set the bar for elite production. Unequivocally in the upper echelon across all EDM genres for sonic perfection, Noisia collaborated with all the heavyweights (many of which appear on Closer) in the earlier 2000s leading up to their debut album Split the Atom in 2010.

While Split the Atom put the EDM world on notice of the trio's impeccable talent, the 2016 album Outer Edges solidified the group as the 'how the hell are they making such incredible sounds" group in the industry.

Closer is a slow IV drip of potent drugs rather than the quick hit of psychedelics showcased on Outer Edges and Split the Atom.

It's steady, consistent good times but nothing taking you to an out-of-body experience. It's a professional piece of music and an apt 20-song finale to the group's career.

Closer is an album about finding closure and ending things on your own terms. Noisia has coveted the unwavering respect of fellow producers for over 2 decades while releasing 'only' three albums. Their sound has precision, conviction, and uncompromising obsession to detail that is fleeting in today's fast-paced consumerism machine.

Noisia put the band back together on Closer - pulling in collaborations with Skrillex, Camo & Krooked, The Upbeats, Two Fingers, Black Sun Empire, and Posij, to name a few - highlighting their industry clout.

At 80 minutes in length, Closer ebbs and flows but never strays too far from its pounding DnB core. Instead, Noisia teases its musical range in interludes and outros, as seen towards the end of throbbing banger "Halcyon," which ends with the grooviest of grooves.

All the sonically immaculate noises are there. Whether it's the frantic rhythms on "Dzjengis," the velvety slick "Horizon," the slower tempo "Cleansing," or the bang your head "Pleasure Model," Closer has the ingredients of everything we've come to expect from Noisia and have forgotten how special they are.

We're spoiled. We're stuffed, full, and forgot to chew.

At the end of the day - it's hard to wonder what Noisia is capable of if they had ever ventured astray from the Drum n' Bass path. While Split the Atom had a vital element of experimentation and razzle-dazzle, their dedication to a narrow niche is admirable and frustrating.

Closer is a fitting farewell to an extensive and acclaimed career for Noisia. It has the classic scrunch your face up and say “wow” moments that stand on a mountain looking down on other producers of the landscape.

Its over-extendedness represents a steadfast determination to their craft and spotlights mutual respect between their vision and the game they are adding to.

If nothing else, Closer is a faultless, understated goodbye to a legendary group that never showboated or gloated when they had every right to. Closer is not a street race - but instead will go down as a final scenic drive through the lush hills of Drum n’ Bass valley.