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Worlds collide in Effin's debut album 'Cheap Thrills'

Writer's picture: Kelly JardineKelly Jardine

With styles and sounds from decades of inspiration, this album itself will become timeless.

At last, Effin has released his 13 track debut album. Cheap Thrills is an eclectic blend of timeless styles and potent sounds of modern electronic music, solidifying Effin's one-of-a-kind style.

Effin is no new player to the game when it comes to dropping heat and holding our admiration. With massive releases on iconic labels, including Never Say Die, Deadbeats and recently, Sable Valley, his raw talent and versatility have never failed to garner attention.


However, the journey to this point of releasing a debut album hasn't been linear for the Nashville born producer.

"The past few years of Effin releases, pre Cheap Thrills, have been a bit all over the place - from pop inspired, indie inspired, more “banger and nothing else” inspired - I enjoyed versatility, but my sound never really had a home base," Effin explained.

As fans, we've all enjoyed Effin's versatility as much as he has, but from an outside perspective it can be easy to overlook the struggle a producer may be facing to find their niche. It's something everyone wants to obtain in any area of life, and with the pressure of being a well-known musician, it can be even harder.

"This album didn’t lose that versatility, but now it’s extremely anchored in a vintage world of samples," Effin said. Heavily pulling from 1950s and into the 1970s, it warps those eras forward into an explosive collage of sound."

Cheap Thrills encapsulates the widespread capabilities Effin has proven to hold, while simultaneously displaying the newly established direction for his entire project moving forward.


From the first beat of the album's opener, Thrill, you can get a sense of what Effin described to us. It starts off with a vintage sounding intro, like that of a 50s soap opera. You hear the voice of a woman singing "You're my thrill" mixed with menacing modern dubstep vocals and basses. The energy builds and builds, leading into a heavy, wavey drop. It sets the tone perfectly for what's to come.

The second track, Sorry, continues to incorporate those vintage sounds and vocals from the get-go. This one has a little more swag, and has a drop to make all the headbangers go crazy. Next is Get it On, which has a super sick swing to it. The drop is hefty, still making sure all the headbangers will be white-knuckling the rail.


The fourth song is Black Magic, which was recently released as a single in early August.

Cover art for Black Magic

"To me, Black Magic is the perfect representation of the album in one song," Effin said. "It really pulls you in and spits you out."

After Lessons, another aggressive banger, and a groovy Interlude, we reach Divine. This song is an outlier as it's a bit more upbeat and nostalgic than the rest of the tracks. It's the kind of tune you'll want to bump on the beach with your homies.

"I’m really excited to see people’s reaction to Divine," Effin shared. "In terms of tempo and groove, it’s the only track of its style on the record. I think it’s one of my favorites though, it just feels simply divine the whole way through.

Then comes Effin's first of two collaborations on the album- Pump, featuring the ambiguous Deathpact. They've proven to be a solid duo with this song, as it elegantly appeals to both your euphoric and rageful senses.


Rabbit, a collaboration with Jiqui, was also released as a single back in July. As soon as we saw these two on a another song together, we knew it was going to be violent. This is their second track together, following Horseplay, which came out on Effin's Descent EP last year.

Effin @ Nocturnal Wonderland 2022. Photo by @visualhealingphotography


The final stretch of four songs, including Null, Yesterdays, It's Gone and Goodbye, continue to show Effin's flair. Null and It's Gone tap into his deep, weighty dubstep tools, and while Yesterdays still utilizes these elements, it's more melodic than the others.


Finally, Goodbye stands as a flawless outro to this masterpiece of an album. Tying everything together, we're sent off with a beautiful saxophone feature and the voice of a woman caroling "Goodbye".


Cheap Thrills truly represents Effin's discovery of his sonic and visual identity. This album is sure to take you through a rollercoaster of auditory thrills.

"This one is incredibly special to me and I think that will be obvious from the opening thrill until the final goodbye," -Effin.

With this major step in his career completed, we can't wait to see what's next for this creative mastermind.


Catch these songs and more live and in person with Effin on one of his upcoming Cheap Thrills Tour stops below, and stream Cheap Thrills now on all platforms!

 

EDM News Reporter, Kelly Jardine, can be found on Instagram and Twitter. THE TRAP HOUSE PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY


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