8/10

Ever since I was really, really young, I loved this EP. Specifically the titular What You Do, it always kept my attention. I had no idea about the creator nor did I have any clue about the other songs on the EP, I only loved that one song and listened to it on end. When I became an adult, the song still stuck with me, and I eventually discovered the rest of the EP as well as the creator's other music. The rest is history.

Favorite Tracks - What You Do, Outsider

Always loved What You Do. It's such a strong song and it seems to keep you grounded throughout the entirety of it, as if you truly cannot break away and pause it even for a moment. The sustained melody throughout the entire song, which begins in the first few moments, is like a welcome respite among all of the rapid drums and droning in the background. It truly builds a feeling inside the listener, putting you in the place of the singer. You are the one being torn open. You are repeating that mantra, that "everybody is gonna be happy" despite all of your pain. It impresses upon you the absolute dire circumstances, and yet you are completely helpless to stop it. The lyrics make it sound almost like there is no desire for it to stop.

Outsider is a far different experience to me. It feels like a far cry from that of What You Do, and yet, it also feels like a side of the same coin. The instrumental instills a feeling of calm hopeless into the listener. You are helpless to stop anything around you, and yet, that seems fine. There is no worry here. To the borderline obsessive, self destructive devotion of What You Do, Outsider is a gentle voice and a soft touch. It has a very different atmosphere from the rest of the EP, despite being just as hard when it comes to the instruments themselves. It always ends up sticking with me long after I listen.

Spacedust - Least Favorite Track

I'm hard pressed to choose a least favorite track off of this EP, but I think that of them all, Spacedust has to be the one I want to listen to the least. The instrumental feels a bit muddy to me - in comparison to the opening track it brings nothing new to the table. It repeats the same message as the majority of the EP, of course, but it feels far shallower than the rest of the songs do. There is no love or devotion in the repeated lyrics throughout the song, and it feels like it would be a better pick for one of The Queenston's different albums.

This album as a whole still remains extremely important to me, even as an adult. It was one of my first actual experiences with Drum and Bass, and kept me hooked on the genre for a very long time. The instrumentals generally remain clean throughout its entirety, and the shortness allows for several replays before your mind gets bored of the music. It's an album that needs to be played in both ears, or out of a very high quality speaker. It is definitely a product of its time, though, and the cracks do show when it comes to the mixing and the harshness of some of the sound. It is definitely a nostalgic 8/10 for me, but I'm fine with that. The replayability of several of the tracks saves this album from being any lower, but I cannot put it any higher simply because I feel it isn't fair to give a biased judgement because of my history with it.