Collaborations between established artists have given us some of the most interesting and enjoyable music of the last decade. The combination of the visions of two musicians often leads to the creation of a new and distinct sound that would otherwise have been unachievable for either independently.

Diplo and Skrillex’s new collaboration, Jack Ü, is not one of those cases.

There are no surprises hidden anywhere in the brief 35-minute album—it is precisely what you would expect from the two artists working together. All of the essence of Diplo’s eclectic percussion shines through and is punctuated by stereotypical Skrillex drops and basslines Rarely do the two mesh in any kind of interesting way. 

The incorporation of various featured artists is what gives the most memorable tracks their quality, rather than any kind of unique production. Self-aware and entertaining raps from 2 Chainz hold the percussive and bass-heavy track “Febreze” together. Unfortunately, while adding 2 Chainz helped in that instance, there are numerous other cases where it was clear that the featured musicians were there only to draw media attention to the album and not to provide any valuable contribution. 

Jack Ü is not a bad album by any means, but it’s unfortunately not a particularly good one either.  It’s often catchy and fun, and a few of the beats are infectious enough to get even the most reserved club-goer moving. It just doesn’t manage to deliver anything more substantial than that.