By David Colburn

Staff Writer
Dubstep. Distorted disorienting dubstep. What is it? Allmusic describes the genre as “tense, almost oppressively dark sound built on tightly coiled production with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns”.  Note the adjectives, “dark,” “tense,” “overwhelming,” dubstep is not an easy-listening genre.

When one experiences the genre through the portable majesty of earphones, one will be overtaken by sound and rhythm. Infectious and hypnotic noises drag and loom from bud to bud without shame. If one needs an introduction to dubstep, let Egyptrixx’s Bible Eyes be the reckless chaperone.

Granted, there is nothing markedly innovative about the album. Very little distinguishes Bible Eyes from most of the genre’s sonic exports. The quality and potency is discovered, fittingly enough, in the intimacy of the listening experience. Dubstep may sometimes be described as dance music, but little compares to the aural attack of synthesizer stings and pulsating rhythms as they attempt to break free from the restriction of the personal home stereo speakers. Siren-like repetitions illustrate each track gorgeously, and the strains of sampled vocals add an even greater sense of mystery to the album’s vast aura.

In the span of ten tracks, beats will blossom and fragment, sounds will sway between the speakers, and paradoxical interpretations, disarmingly cold, yet relaxingly warm, will form in the mind of the listener. As with many releases from the realm of electronica, Bible Eyes looks forward to the future and the past in equal measure and strikes a balance that is as infectious to listen to as it is charming to reconsider. “Dark”, “tense”, “overwhelming”? Have no fear and show no reluctance: Bible Eyes is a work that can easily slide into anyone’s collection.