Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

Recording on a laptop at his apartment in 2010, Skrillex had yet to go full dubstep with his second EP, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, named after David Bowie's 1980 album Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). Sure, sizable chunks of Skrillex's future trademark sound seep into the first cut, “Rock 'n' Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain).” But he had yet to really perfect the down-pitched low-end wobble that became synonymous with his name. The opening song here is a patchwork of cut-up textures and samples shuffled like a deck of cards over an electro house foundation. The title track resets the limbo bar for Skrillex to dip even lower into that sternum-rattling bass. (And just to confuse his fans and friends, the producer sampled a soundbite of speed-stacking champion Rachael Nedrow yelling, “Yes, oh my gosh!,” which sparked a flurry of rumors about the two being romantically involved.) The standout “Scatta” features the rapid-fire rhymes of British grime MCs Foreign Beggars and Bare Noize, though it’s Skrillex’s gnarled bass with serrated textures that gives this cut its true voice.