![]() ![]() With respect to features, the album’s cast of collaborators is internationally minded NSW’s MAY-A, American singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek, British producer and composer Danny L. He is characteristically audacious on an LP that can be called a collection of risks taken-and landings stuck. Indeed, it feels like Flume allows the wings of this modus operandi to spread full-span on Palaces. Though Flume has long been reputed for his blur-all-boundaries-in-the-name-of-art approach, Palaces derives its wonder and grandeur from the depth and expanse of his application of this methodology. “I was always doing stuff on the grid,” Flume attested in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, adding that the realization that one “can really swerve” and doesn’t have to stay “on the grid” has “just become part of the DNA of what does now.” That ethos is audible across Palaces‘ 13 tracklistings, which seamlessly assemble, despite their piecemeal production. So to try and piece it all together and make it make sense and feel cohesive, I’ve added a bunch of tones and textures from the wildlife on the property.” Influence from the flora and fauna of the coastal town in New South Wales’ (NSW’s) Northern Rivers, where Flume fashioned the LP, are the connective tissue of Palaces, which embodies some of the Australian producer’s boldest, most eclectic sound design yet.Įxperimentation and a general genre eschewal are throughlines of the Skinfollow-up. “Doing a session with someone in London or doing this over here on tour. While it could have benefitted from some editing, Skin still shows a lot of growth - it's more mature, and more memorable, than Flume.Palaces was “kind of fragmented over years,” Flume said. Though instrumentals like the darkly percussive "Wall Fuck" and the fizzy, pixelated "Pika" showcase Streten's range as a producer, the vocal tracks are so compelling that his solo turns sometimes feel like afterthoughts that bloat the album. Skin's hip-hop leanings also feel more organic than they did previously, whether on the meeting of veteran and new talent that is the Allan Kingdom and Raekwon collab "You Know," or Vince Staples' cameo on "Smoke & Retribution," which also features up-and-coming Aussie producer/singer Kučka, who also features on the more abstract "Numb & Getting Colder." The album's brightest highlights bring out the best in Streten and his guests: MNDR takes a convincing turn as a pop diva on "Like Water and even though he's Auto-Tuned, Beck has rarely sounded as uninhibited as he does on "Tiny Cities." Meanwhile, Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano elevates "Take a Chance" into one of Flume's finest moments yet, her soulful tones a perfect match for its powerful builds and drops. A cadre of well-chosen, equally genre-hopping collaborators helps him do this with surprisingly artful results: Kai's graceful vocals on "Never Be Like You" equal Streten's beats without distracting from them, while Tove Lo brings some of her sexy edge to "Say It" (and both songs underscore that dance/pop hybrids don't have to sink to both genres' lowest common denominators). With Skin, he sets himself apart from the former and exceeds the latter, uncovering more sides and bringing more focus to his fusion of dance, pop, hip-hop, and R&B. ![]() The four years between Flume's stylish self-titled debut and its follow-up were long enough that Harley Streten racked up imitators almost as quickly as expectations for what he'd do next. ![]()
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