Montreal's Poirier is signed to Ninja Tunes, and it’s a perfect fit. Within his milieu he’s quite the progressive force, although for many, myself included, the genres he professes to span and splice together might be somewhat impenetrable. Soca, dancehall, techno, grime; all feed into the latest in a prolific run; Running High marking Poirier’s seventh studio album and a real blast of percussive, urban dance music.Opener ‘Wha-la-la-leng’ opens with the eponymous chant before erupting into a breakneck riddim infused with semi-melodic rap. You’d be forgiven for thinking the pace will invariably let up at some point, but you’d also be disappointed; the percussion and thumping, blistering bass becomes almost an industrial noise. It’s strangely compelling.The subsequent ‘Marathon’ is more accessible. A carnival beat, massive kick drum and electronic percussion combine into a dance-hall rhythm; then a scuzzy synth melody overlaid with madcap harmony, followed by sparse breaks, followed by wordless, echoed vocals. It’s so simple, repetitive and relentless it’s hard not to be swept up in the visceral, primal flow of it all. The flipside is, if for whatever reason you can’t quite let yourself be drawn into it, you’ll be quickly bored as a result.Make no mistake, this record has a distilled and unapologetic nu-skool dancehall ethic and it excels in its minimalism. Composition of this kind, though it seems strange to call it by that name, allows the rhythmic interplay, the aggressive yet cathartic vocals, to shine. Imagine DJ Ghislain Poirier as a counterpart to Major Lazer’s similar brand of minimal, high-tempo freak beat and you should have a fairly good idea of why the young Canadian is making such big noises in his international scene.Of course, crucial to this genre is sheer predictability (in places) and aforementioned relentless repetitiveness, lack of melody and clinical, urban production. ‘90’s Backyard’ (sic) for example, sounds almost like demented chiptunes set to brutal percussion, and it doesn’t deviate for the entire track. For many, ‘Running High’ will remain an effective beat-tape, and it certainly doesn’t flirt with any kind of mainstream cross over to elevate it beyond meant-to-be-heard-loud-in-a-club. For others, it will represents a unimaginative entry into an already saturated market for heavy, percussive ragga. It’s such a fine line between a missed opportunity and a strictly, clinically effective, straight up genre piece. Imagine Poirier being really close to your face so that depending on which eye you shut it appears he’s incontrovertibly on one side (then the other).The mindset this music was conceived and recorded in was no doubt one of carefree desire; desire to get people moving madly, almost mindlessly to hyper-tempos. It’s a thing of context probably; blasted over a willing crowd it could be a thing of wonder. From the speakers on your desk however, it feels almost embarrassingly out of place. Compensate, if you will, by adjusting the space inside your head to accommodate the LP. Or, conversely, settle for leaving it strictly to its natural habitat.