In the four years since his self-titled debut album dropped, Flume has grown from an Internet sensation into an international superstar. He has topped charts, earned remixes by Disclosure and Lorde and has attracted huge crowds at premier festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza.
His synth-driven electronic style, influenced greatly by indie, hip-hop and R&B, was a unique shift from the music coming out of the electro-pop realm four years ago. And on his latest LP, “Skin,” Flume reaches for even more, bringing his formula to an extreme.
Coming into this album, Flume stated he wanted to write something that sounds like “the fabric of the universe tearing.” His intention was to distort sound as much as possible to create the proper backdrop for his supporting cast, which has undoubtedly expanded greatly.
He employs a wide variety of artists including rising hip-hop stars (Vic Mensa, Vince Staples), indie-pop crooners (Tove Lo, Kai, AlunaGeorge), as well as creative legends (Beck, Raekwon). Each collaborator successfully adds their own dimensions to Flume’s wide array of instrumentals.
On radio-hit “Never Be Like You,” singer Kai manages a pleasant, yet triumphant pop hook that perfectly complements the undulating synths marking the instrumental. It is far-reaching and confident, yet atmospheric and calm, which best portrays Flume as an artist.
Even more grandiose is album highlight “You Know,” featuring rappers Allan Kingdom and Raekwon. Over a cinematic beat, Raekwon recounts the story of a murder and vividly brings the listener into his past. In terms of creating something memorable and attention grabbing, Flume & Co. come pretty close to perfection.
Flume’s ability to bring the listener into a different world with his songs is the biggest improvement on this record compared to his last one. Throughout “When Everything Was New,” you feel like a kid at a carnival exploring for the first time, so much so that when the brief song ends, it is impossible to not feel melancholy.
As the LP comes to a close though, things start to come together, especially with multi-instrumentalist Beck — who made a career out of finding new ways to create different sounds — features on the last track, “Tiny Cities.” It feels more like the end of a movie soundtrack than the end of an electronic music album, but this appears to be intentional.
Before the album dropped, Flume released elaborate album art for each song, indicating that each song is its own entity that tells a distinct story of its own. The result is an artistic statement that creates a cinematic environment for listeners, and not necessarily just one on the dance floor.
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