Skrillex – F*ck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!! <3 Review

Could the man behind Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites be compared with the artist who masterminded Campbell’s Soup? Apparently so. Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!! has the sort of reactionary style of an internet comment from around the days of Bangarang in title alone. What features on the album, seemingly named after asking a furious, unhinged member of the public what their thoughts were on Skrillex, is far from the maddening comment. Skrillex gets by with surprise drops. Two albums in the last three years have depended on the sudden release surge, the act of using an unexpected event as marketing. It works well, and for Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!!, it was the only suitable style of release. The death and rebirth of an artist is a constant. Instagram accounts wiped of posts to prepare for a new era.  

Skrillex shows the best way to reinvent yourself is through blunt force. Skrillex is Dead, the first track of this surprise release, has the artist with the same lofty view of his own music as Bryan Adams did on So Happy It Hurts. God invented Rock and Roll. Define death. All of it feels a bit ego-driven, but with Skrillex, it is as least an interesting EDM project. A stretch of guest vocalists provides a tangible link between tracks as the story of reinvention is pursued. At the very least, Skrillex trusts the media literacy of his listeners. They can work out the death of Skrillex and life after his music without the handholding used by the relentless, advertisement-driven releases elsewhere. Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!! is a breath of fresh air. It’s a project of very few stops or slow moments, a continuous beat split into thirty-four tracks.  

Picking out specifics for a playlist would go against the very purpose of the album. Skrillex has carefully curated a communal experience with the vocal artists selected here, and creates a feeling not too dissimilar from Above and Beyond broadcasts. An album tailor-made for those blown away by Tomorrowland visuals. Not a bad thing when the mix is of a quality expected of Skrillex, but the cultural reference points are typical of the genre. Sound files sampled from The Legend of Zelda, tangible connections to the modern scene through the collaborators, Skrillex is clear in where he wants this music to land. It finds its audience, but it may pick up a few sceptics along the way thanks to its thorough style. Skrillex is still an above competent producer and his style, in passing, is a nice listen.  

But focus on the details of Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol But Ur Not!!, and you find an artist challenging the popular read of his music. An incredibly fun, consistent project from an artist who has spent years trying, as every musician who values their contemporary work will do, experimenting with audience expectation. Moments of inspiration, where you can hear Skrillex toying with the fundamentals of the EDM scene, are what make this recent release such a thrill. Well worth the listen, though there is no doubt it will sound better when Skrillex incorporates it into live shows. A fantastic selection of well-produced songs to choose from, where the various artists included are crucial, but rarely steal the spotlight away from the EDM sound.