Since the release of his self-titled debut, Flume has made a name for himself as one of the most ground-breaking and innovative minds in electronic music. Through his releases, the Australian producer has slowly been experimenting and finding new ways to adapt his sound. Along the way, his visuals have become iconic and synonymous with the artist's music, taking a life of their own. In 2019, he dropped the Hi This Is Flume mixtape, an experimental non-stop powerhouse project. Ever since then, I had been eagerly awaiting to see what direction he would go in. His 2022 album, Palaces, is a culmination of the grand electronic sound of Flume as he continues to build on a beautiful and disruptive experimental edge.
The project is as colorful and mind blowing as anything he's done thus far. His messy yet ordered arrangements create so many twists and turns. On Palaces, the drops are always a surprise because he has a way of taking traditional forms of production and creating beautifully chaotic moments out of them. The instrumental make-up of this project features many classic synths that fans of Flume will recognize instantly along with previously untapped ones. Because of the vision that he's carried out for so many projects now, the sounds of his music give any listener synesthesia as every note creates visions of the Flume visuals. It's truly special when an artist has such a tangible feel to their music as he does.
From the start of the album, Highest Building greets the listener with warm synth notes accompanied with Oklou's electronic vocals building into a grainy drop. It perfectly sets the stage for whats to come with a perfect contrast between rashness and euphoria. The glitched out DHLC is another example of how Flume thrives in his instrumental tracks. The song holds back moments of explosive power just for the right second, then lets it rip. Kučka and Flume reunite on ESCAPE. I think ESCAPE has the best drop on the album with Flume masterfully chopping up Kučka's vocal samples along with a mess of wild synths. The song is futuristic chaos perfected. I Can't Tell features Laurel's gorgeous vocals, giving an uplifting relief to the track. The emotional song features some piercing percussion during the breakdown alongside the blaring synths. Jasper's Song is a jaw-dropping moment on the album. The beautiful piano piece is a moment of true levity. The electricity from the synths hum alongside the piano as a spectacular combination. About halfway-through the track list, it's a fantastic reminder of how well Flume handles the peaceful moments just as well as the ones bustling with noise. Hollow is a summery dance track with another outstanding feature, this time from Emma Louise. We've already done a review on the hauntingly brilliant track, Sirens. You can read that here. Palaces is the perfect song is finish out the album. Between the sounds of nature and the ominous distorted vocals through the first half, it radiates a sense of longing and nostalgia that wraps around you like a warm blanket. It is one of the most beautiful instrumentals he's ever created. The brilliant Damon Albarn was an incredible choice for the feature as his vocals hammer in all the emotion right before the ending.
Palaces leaves no doubt about what Flume is capable of as an artist. His artistry is in true form in every second of the masterful production. He's an artist I'm never impatient for because the time he takes to create is clearly used to utterly perfect the entirety of the project. The experiments and risks he takes pay off in massive ways because of his intricate attention to detail and experienced ear for sound. I highly recommend taking a look at some of the visuals and music videos he's released for the project because it takes the listening experience to a whole new level. Though this may be his only project for a while, I cannot complain because he's given us another amazing body of work to sit with. Check out the album below!
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