It’s hard out here for a DJ. With the music sphere flooded with DJs, it’s hard to set oneself apart from the masses. However, Ryan Hemsworth succeeds in doing so in his debut solo album. “Against the Wall” effortlessly combines the lyrical offerings of Lofty305 with hard–hitting base and riffs any raver could bounce to. The quick–hitting opener of “Happiness and Dreams Forever” will pull anyone in, as will the smoothness of “Yaeko Mitamura Is Lonely.” Though the tracklist comes in at just ten songs, it becomes evident just a minute into the first song, “Small + Lost,” that Hemworth crafted each sound very intricately. The cohesion of each song and the flow of each song into the next is a testament to his skill. With this mix of head bangers and chiller tracks, Hemworth has found a way to infuse life into a genre that has been saturated with the typical beats and bangs for a while.
Grade: A Download: “Small + Lost” Sounds best when: You're doing the awesome shit on your bucket list.
