Skrillex never technically went anywhere—but god damn is it good to have him back. The OWSLA head honcho returns with his first single since summer 2019 when he dropped off his Show Tracks twofer, closely followed by his Grammy-nominated Boys Noize and Ty Dolla $ign feature, “Midnight Hour.” Now, Sonny Moore is delivering fresh new Skrillex material, this time bringing frequent collaborators Four Tet and Starrah along for “Butterflies.”
The new joint effort lands after a flurry of tantalizing social media movements from the 33-year-old superstar producer, hyping his long awaited return. Always one to keep fans guessing, Skrillex keep his feet firmly planted in house territory on “Butterflies,” evoking a similarly uplifting atmospheric appeal to tracks like “Would You Ever” and “Chicken Soup.” Oscillating percussion patterns weave with gated, glitching vocal chops, and Starrah’s inimitable versework to make for a deeply layered dance cut that draws from the clear chemistry between the three collaborators.
Wrapped in Four Tet and Skrillex’s individually original house-leaning methodologies, “Butterflies” doesn’t exactly signal a new direction for Skrillex, but the track clearly reflects a more seasoned, perhaps a little quieter, and matured Sonny Moore. While his days of nosebleed-inducing low-end cuts may be somewhat behind him, Skrillex proves to be as sharp as ever, and “Butterflies” may signal an oncoming metamorphosis from bass music’s prodigal son as he comes out of his shell and creatively stretches his wings.
