Major Lazer Announces New EP ‘Apocalypse Soon’

So the Mayans were wrong about the possible end of the world happening on December 21, 2012, but now, Major Lazer is predicting that the apocalypse will soon be upon us come February 25, 2014. Okay, maybe not an actual apocalypse, but their new EP, Apocalypse Soon, will indeed be upon us on that day. The twerk-centric brainchild of dance music superstar Diplo announced details on the new EP that will be out in four weeks. The EP includes recent Grammy award winner Pharrell Williams, as well as popular Jamaican musician Sean Paul. Major Lazer tweeted the five-song tracklist of the EP, which is as follows:

1. Aerosol Can (featuring Pharrell Williams)
2. Come On To Me (featuring Sean Paul)
3. Sound Bang (featuring Michael Montano)
4. Lose Yourself (featuring MDX & Moska)
5. Dale Asi (featuring Mr. Fox)

Major Lazer also uploaded a teaser of the new EP on Youtube, as well as a clip of “Aerosol Can” on their Instagram.

Apocalypse Soon ended up landing right on schedule, and it turned out to be a bigger deal than a lot of people expected for an EP. Both lead singles performed well internationally — “Aerosol Can” with Pharrell charted in Australia and Belgium after its mid-February release, while “Come On to Me” featuring Sean Paul picked up chart placements in France and the Netherlands once it dropped as its own single in early March. The EP as a whole also charted in France and New Zealand, which was a strong showing for a five-track project stuffed in between a Major Lazer album cycle.

Critically, the project drew attention from outlets well outside the usual dance music press, with reviews popping up from the likes of Pitchfork, AllMusic, Alternative Press, and Resident Advisor. That kind of crossover coverage wasn’t super common for EDM/dancehall crossover releases at the time, and it reflected just how much momentum Major Lazer had built off the back of their 2013 album and Diplo’s growing reputation as a hitmaker who could move between genres without losing credibility in any of them.

Looking back, Apocalypse Soon reads as a bridge release — a way for Major Lazer to keep dancehall-inflected bangers coming out steadily while setting up bigger things to come. “Aerosol Can” and “Come On to Me” both held their own as singles well after the EP cycle wrapped, and the release remains a solid snapshot of Major Lazer at the height of their early-2014 run, right before they became an even bigger festival mainstay.