Magnetic Man go mainstream together, Skream goes off on his own...

Magnetic Man are the supergroup of the already successful and well reknown dubstep producers Artwork, Benga, and Skream. Born out of Croydon, they are among the young pioneers of a scene which is gaining ever increasing international acclaim, from critics and from a wide cross section of music fans.

This is their first album and, being such an attractive proposition, it's heavily supported by the record label. They're on tour at the moment, starting off in smaller clubs and progressing to larger venues in 2011. When I saw them at Heaven, in central London in October the club was mostly though not totally full, the audience mostly young, hip and white.

The album is something of a showreel for dubstep - targeted squarely at the mainstream audience it's a patchwork of the current styles and trends in the genre. There's everything from moody, urban, ambient instrumentals, through classy, modern pop and on to the more usual, club-focused and frenetic, dubstep breaks. The standout tracks are the two big singles "I Need Air" with Angela Hunte, and "Perfect Stranger" with current it-girl Katy B.  This is arguably the sound of 2010 - medium paced, with romantically epic synths running regulation four chord progressions on a continuous loop, big autotune-saturated vocals, and slickly modern beats. "I Need Air" is followed by "Anthemic" - which is a kind of cookery show '..and here's how we did that' - an almost identical blueprint this time without the vocals - throwing together the basic dubstep recipe of breaks, big synth chorus and subterranean bass 'whfomp whfomp'. Most disappointing is the second Katy B track "Crossover", which is frankly just dull, a simple chorus repeated far more than necessary. Final track "Getting Nowhere" surprisingly features a rootsy, soul vocal from the respected John Legend - but here the dubstep struggles to match the soul, the beats sound lumpen and it misses the mark on feel.

In general, while there are some nice arrangements and some clever moments, MM's ideas are stretched a little too long and hard, the tempo drags a little too much. The album seems half done and lacks a clear vision of what it wants to be, opening the door for the faint suspicion that - like most supergroups - this is actually a canny, record company vehicle rather the serendipitous product of musical collaboration. Most damning is the way it is enlivened significantly by the personalities of each guest vocalist. It's perhaps an unfair comparison, but if compared to the decade-defining, social landmark that was Massive Attack's Blue Lines, then Magnetic Man falls some way short of its potential.

In clear contrast, Skream's latest solo album Outside The Box is a coherent, surprisingly lush, pleasure of an album. Slower in tempo and with a reflective mood it's clearly a labour of love from a thoughtful, boundary pushing artist. It calls to mind an autumnal dusk in South London, those lurid orange streaks across the sky, a smoky damp in the air and brown leaves permanently rotting across every street and pavement.

Opening with the sad "Perferated" it eases smoothly into the sparse, scatty, "8-bit baby" with rapper Murs in fine toasting form. The bones of Outside... are similar to the Magnetic Man, but here, rather than pushing ideas beyond their means, Skream has confidence to allow his ideas the space and time to breathe and as a result it has a more natural heartbeat.

Throughout, the production is superb and the sounds and sonic layers have been crafted with purpose and care. There are echoes of a number of last generation electronic musical sources; as an ambient, electronic, urban journey it calls to mind the Goldie's midnight epic Timeless. The softly emotive, melodic synths are reminiscent perhaps of something from Boards of Canada (surely an influence). Elsewhere there's pop-ology from Sam Frank and La Roux, the latter appearing on the exquisite "Finally". Personal highlights are the cavernously deep, dark dub of "Metamorphosis", and the elegant nostalgia of "A Song For Lenny" which goes beyond the dubstep brand and out into true electronica.

This is still a baby of genre, and it's being nursed by artists with a broader music taste and ambition than is typical of most dance/electronic scenes. Magnetic Man is commercial music made by a collective of talented producers; it's a strong idea, it's pop ready, and it'll work well in clubs, but it's perhaps not built to last. Still - better things may come. If you like Radio 1, or you subscribe to the annual Now.. collection, then you'll enjoy the singles. If you're keeping up with trends, then Magnetic Man may be as perfect a momento of this point in time as a digital photo on your mobile phone. Skream however delivers a more personal, introspective listening experience, made for, say, an interminable ride on a London night bus, or as the soundtrack to your post-club, weekend wind down.

Links:
Skream on RinseFM (dubstep pirate station): http://www.beatsfortheplanet.com/2010/04/21/skream-live-on-rinse-fm-14th-april-2010/
Magnetic Man - "Perfect Man" (live with Katy B): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93AU5IkvDPY
Skream - "Where You Should Be (feat. Sam Frank): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVNpsg7rYS0