After the huge hit that was known as "Loneliness," one had to wonder what direction Tomcraft would go in and what he would do next. Now we have the answer and it's his new album Hyper Sexy Conscious. Hyper Sexy Conscious never approaches the brilliance of the aforementioned Loneliness and that's not to say that this record is bad per se, because it's not. It just doesn't have that same level of energy that Tomcraft's previous work has had. It does contains all the elements that a decent dance album needs: good tunes, rhythm, house as well as techno and electro elements all blended into a somewhat subdued perfect formula... Tomcraft produced this album at his home in Munich in his own studio, creating sounds, cutting beats, writing vocals, and looping bass drums together with his new production partner Tai Jason and with help from Rolf "Jam El Mar" Ellmer from Jam & Spoon and female vocalists Dacia Bridges and Stephenie Coker.
The album opens with the amazing track "Sureshot" which contains a hip hop structure in the vein of Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Breathe." They even present a bonus version of the song at the end that features Sido and Tai Jason doing an even more rap version of the track. "Quelle Heure Est-Il" is the next track and with its 4/4 rhythms, synthesized keyboards, and funky guitar, the track is eerily reminiscent of Daft Punk's work on Discovery. "On Screen" reflects a more housey, techno sound with Dacia Bridges providing sexy vocals, but then the track "Roots" changes the fun atmosphere and turns the music a little dark with its long synth pads and catchy rock guitar- seemingly destined to become great background music for films.
Other songs to note are "Bloated," with its sensual soul electro sound, and "Da Disco," a house track which also has a blues sound with a subdued melody, with a club remix of it at the end that is more playful than the original. Of course, "Electronic Toy" also pulsates along in a grinding way, but the most energetic track of the album is found midway through and that is "Dirty Sanchez."
"Dirty Sanchez" has club play written all over it and after hearing it one has to wonder why the rest of the album didn't have this energy? The end of the album finds the primitive techno of "We" which suggests the vitality of some of his previous hits and is not a bad way to send off the album before being introduced to the bonus mixes.
While this album is really not for the club crowd, Hyper Sexy Conscious is still fun and more of a listen for the home. Not overly energetic, but definitely not boring, this is a great record for getting ready to going out or just chilling at home. With its mid-paced breaks, this album shows a different direction for Tomcraft and finds him more relaxed and subdued to his previous efforts. I definitely think it's a great album but look forward to him getting back to some more club-friendly music.
