mentalEscape, the sonic alias of Sarajevo's M.Causevic, brings a curious concoction to the table with his latest ten-track offering, ‘Bizarre Behavior’. With a background steeped in both the traditional melodies of the Balkans and the gritty pulse of the American electronic underground, you can never quite be sure what mentalEscape will deliver, and this album is no exception, delivering fierce and concentrated bursts of sound that will knock you off-kilter.

The album kicks off with ‘She Hits The Lights’, a quickfire cut that also serves as one of the first singles from the record. It’s a bold burst that looks to grab you by the scruff of the neck, pushing forward with growling vocals and 808 beats. The beat and build are easily engaging, and the track pushes hard to ignite the album with force.

‘Shoot Your Shot’ stands as a highlight, injecting a pure shot of adrenaline into the album. It’s a track that aligns perfectly with mentalEscape’s style, offering a raw and kaleidoscopic cut that hits hard and keeps on hitting. Elsewhere, ‘Welcome To The Nightmare (I Am Terror)’, which arrives with its own music video, is fuelled by heavier industrial grit and a damning backbeat that will get your blood pumping. It’s another highlight, a potent dose that sees mentalEscape elevating his sound with heavy, hybrid movements.

‘Viper’ is another such cut, pushing through the looping tones with a new sense of dynamism. The soundscape is intriguing, drawing you in with its careful and precise shifts. It proves that even small changes can have a significant impact. In the latter half of the album, ‘Coil’ shines with a slow-burning intensity combined with a hypnotic quality that instantly takes hold, while ‘Keep The Pill Under The Tongue’ is arguably the album’s high point, clinging to a menacing bassline that’ll have you enraptured.

There’s truth to the album’s name, breaking between genres and styles, and constantly lashing out with layers of something new. In his own words, mentalEscape calls it “23 minutes of pure, concentrated madness,” and for the most part, you can’t help but agree. It’s an album that aims to be dark, cinematic, and heavy, and while it might not be all those things all at the same time, it’s certainly an album worth exploring.

For more from mentalEscape, including his previous albums, be sure to follow him on Spotify and YouTube.