The Daily Spin, December 27
Flume | Palaces
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: Palaces (2022)
Artist: Flume
Link:
Flume is an artist that I have mixed feelings about - which might sound kind of funny, considering he’s third all-time by play count and a comfortable distance ahead of fourth - but it remains true, especially as I continue to explore his growing catalogue.
When Flume is good, as he is in spots on this album, his sound absolutely ascends - transcendent, massive spires of bass that fade into black just in time for vocal flights and small melodies to take their place, filling the room as foliage replaces the burn after a fire.
Other times, he leans into the experimental so far that it feels as though there’s nothing that remains of Flume - and though pushing boundaries is fun, with experimental electronic you can so easily fall into the trap of ceaseless noise, a riptide current dragging you to the abyss.
The majority of Palaces feels like the former - after an experimental sidestep in Hi, This Is Flume, this is more of a return to form - and while it doesn’t quite capture the near-pop elements of some of the songs off Skin, this record finds itself touching those before sliding towards the wonky future-bass trip-hop that Harley Streten has made such a name with.
A lot of the features are unfortunately unmemorable, and a collaboration with Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and formerly Blur feels underutilized - but at its heart, Palaces executes perfectly on what Flume does best, and when the music flies, you fly too.
Rating: 8.6/10
Best Tracks: Jasper’s Song; Love Light; I Can’t Tell
Worst Tracks: Only Fans