Gritty dubstep meets top 40. Joker used to be the hottest thing on the UK scene. I say used to because The Vision will arguably resonate with a crowd radically different from the one that wet their pants when Digidesign and Purple City hit the street. There are still some excellent moments of raw and gritty dubstep on this record, although about half of it is heavy on the vocal side and kind of meh. Still, you can always play Tron (the track, that is) and time travel back to the days where Joker was all about the sawtooth synths and bass lines with punch.
Try: 4, 7, 5
FCC: 8, 10

1) 1:57 Dramatic, haunting intro.
2) 5:39 As epic as it gets in terms of synth-heavy dubstep. Strong vocals with grainy chords and a somewhat catchy chorus. Somewhat.
3) 5:06 ** So good. Slow and wobbly with a mercilessly brutal main synth line. Absolutely epic.
4) 4:38 Suspenseful opening. Rusko/Magnetic Man with more dirt.
5) 4:28 * Mount Kimbie-ish skips and blobs, dives into a full-on dubstep fiesta. Lots of bass and airy arpeggios.
6) 2:40 Retro in the weirdest possible way. Like a mellow 80s movie soundtrack with an extra subwoofer.
7) 6:03 * Raw and psychedelic. Classic Joker production with plenty of melodic yet rough synths and tight production all around.
8) 3:21 FCC: “shithole” Cute melody and production with grime vocal on top. Not really all that catchy, but I guess it works ok.
9) 4:28 Is this Timbaland? Sounds like something off JT’s latest album. Mellow and slightly cheesy vocals on top of innocent synths.
10) 5:07 FCC: “nigger” Grimey and dirty. This is for you, hip-hop heads with safe harbor shows.
11) 4:11 Piano intro. Soft and strangely melodic on poppy dubstep.
12) 4:10 * Dubstep + vibraphones. Lionel Richie meets the UK undeground