Don't Get Too Close Explained

Don't Get Too Close
Type:studio
Artist:Skrillex
Cover:Skrillex - Don't Get Too Close.png
Alt:An animated hedgehog with sharp metal quills covered in blood, with Skrillex's 'ill' logo in the upper right corner
Released:February 18, 2023
Genre:
Length:33:35
Label:
Producer:Skrillex
Prev Title:Quest for Fire
Prev Year:2023

Don't Get Too Close is the third studio album by American record producer Skrillex. It was released on February 18, 2023, through Owsla and Atlantic Records.[1] It was released the day after his 2023 album Quest for Fire, with both records being announced and promoted simultaneously. It was preceded by the singles "Way Back" (with PinkPantheress and Trippie Redd), "Real Spring" (with Bladee), and "Don't Get Too Close" (with Bibi Bourelly). Skrillex is also separately credited as "Sonny Moore" on the title track, and is featured as a vocalist for the first time since 2015's Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü.[2]

Promotion and release

Skrillex teased the album on social media alongside Quest for Fire on January 1, 2023, with a message hinting at the names of the two albums, and their release later that year. A snippet of samples from both albums was uploaded, alongside an animation featuring the two "ill" logos that he uses for each album.[3]

The title and album artwork were officially revealed on February 13, 2023, alongside the music video for the title track.[4]

The album was surprise-released during Skrillex's performance at Madison Square Garden, alongside Fred Again and Four Tet, on February 18, 2023.[5] [6]

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Chal Ravens described it as "the more adventurous but marginally less successful" of Skrillex's second and third albums, and wrote that Skrillex "scores the interior world of our hero's adventure in a very-now merger of emo, rap, J-pop, memecore, video game music, and angsty boy-girl duets". Ravens also found the album to be "intriguingly weird" and "likely to confound the older fans while opening new doors for Skrillex as a collaborator". David Cobbald of The Line of Best Fit felt the inclusion of "Don't Go" makes the album "more of a pop record than Quest For Fire" and questioned "whether this record would've been better if it was released first" as it "adds a certain depth to its predecessor" despite "the albums still work[ing] as a pair" regardless. Ben Devlin of musicOMH found the album to be "shorter and considerably more patchy" than Quest for Fire, with "gargly autotune" from Chief Keef on "Bad for Me", the child vocals on "3am" becoming "tedious quickly" and the lyrics on "Don't Get Too Close" sounding "like one big in-joke", which "completely tanks the project's momentum", summarizing that the best songs amount "to a great EP".

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sunkel . Cameron . Skrillex Drops Title Track of Second Album of 2023, "Don't Get Too Close" . EDM.com . February 14, 2023 . February 14, 2023.
  2. Mier . Tomás . Skrillex Sings for First Time in 8 Years on 'Don't Get Too Close' . . February 14, 2023.
  3. Web site: Kelly . Dylan . Skrillex To Drop His First Solo Album in Almost a Decade in 2023 . . January 3, 2023 . February 14, 2023.
  4. Sonny Moore . Skrillex . skrillex . 1625265419358711809 . And here's the title track to album 2, Dont Get Too Close (TBD) created with the most special people @BibiBourelly @Lido... So surreal to hear this out and see this little guy come to life.
  5. Surprise! Skrillex Surprise-Releases Another New Album, 'Don't Get Too Close' . . Kreps . Daniel . February 19, 2023 . February 19, 2023.
  6. Skrillex Drops Surprise Album 'Don't Get Too Close' f/ Justin Bieber, Chief Keef, and More. Complex. Espinoza. Joshua. February 19, 2023. February 19, 2023.