An Offbeat by CFUV review.
Photo via thelineofbestfit.com.
With Fred again.. once more pushing the boundaries of dance and electronic music, fans have been treated to a living, breathing album featuring a stacked guestlist, an in-depth release tour, and a pile of new music. Following a “10 Weeks, 10 Songs, 10 Cities” format, USB002 was published as an incremental list of ten singles, corresponding with ten global “last minute” tour dates across ten cities, before being added en masse to the preexisting album USB on Dec. 12, 2025.
Past the creativity involved in this one-of-a-kind rollout, USB002’s tracklist is filled with a ridiculous amount of variety, leaving something to be enjoyed for even the most insular of music enthusiasts. One of my favourite tracks is “Beto’s Horns – fred remix,” featuring Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso. The track has an undeniable bounce that somehow fits at a crossroads of trap, tech-house, and bassline, and despite being entirely in Spanish, leaves listeners in every language wanting more. During one of the many livestreams that coincided with the tour, Fred again.. alongside Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso were joined by British jazz quintet Ezra Collective, performing a more instrumental version of this track live from London warehouse. This version of the song was later released as a non-album single.
One of the most underrated skills in Fred again..’s arsenal is his ability to collaborate with figures from the hip-hop and rap scenes — particularly those from backgrounds in drill — and draw them into his experimental world of electronic. On USB002, the best example of this is “Talk of the Town,” featuring vocals from Irish drill rapper Reggie’s 2022 single of the same name, and additional production from UK garage icon Sammy Virji. The track, which has now passed 25 million streams on Spotify, was produced and recorded in its entirety during a Twitch stream on Oct. 30th 2025, mere hours before it was performed at that evening’s USB002 show in Dublin. A flanged bass, dance-style drums, and convincing delivery from Reggie drive the track’s groove-heavy structure, leaving listeners with nothing to do but fight the urge to dance.
Picking one track as a favorite from USB002 is about as hard as clicking skip on any of the album’s offerings. If pressed for an answer though, I would be strongly inclined to select “you’re a star,” a heavy, club style EDM track featuring a vocal sample from Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers’ “Big Dreams.” Between the wailing sirens, pulsating bassline, and chaos of drums, Fred still manages to find space to blend elements of ambient, emotional electronica, and punk, resulting in a track somehow encompassing the depressive and victorious all at once.
Pushing USB’s original length to 34 tracks, totaling two hours and 21 minutes of playtime, USB002 serves as a testament to Fred again..’s creative growth, innate collaborative capabilities, and unwavering drive to push himself into every musical space he can fit within. With ten shows between New York and London already planned for the first two months of 2026, and two more USB songs promised via his Instagram, Fred again.. is in prime position to build on the success of USB002 and maintain his global dominance in the electronic scene.
