The Daily Spin, March 13
Flume | Things Don't Always Go The Way You Plan
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 song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
This is my second review for Flume. The first can be found here:
Album: Things Don’t Always Go The Way You Plan (2023)
Artist: Flume
Link:
Flume dropped a very pleasant surprise for us all, a quick release of ten previously unreleased demo tracks that had never made their way onto official drops in the past, ranging from 2012 to 2021 - nearly his entire career.
I love that he did this - we’re able to see how his ability has grown as his sound has shifted, in addition to getting some previously untouched collaborations with rap group Injury Reserve, pop vocalist Isabella Manfredi, and electronic producer Panda Bear. It’s the fine print and the deft touches of a seasoned hand that really stand out on the production of the newer songs, but the entire body is cohesively and undeniably a Flume work rather than anyone else.
Flume’s production wavers at times on this record - at least for my taste - veering a little too far into hyperpop for me to really get much into some tracks, but when it’s good, it’s that classically unique sound that builds into powerful drops, launching you through emotion to land in clarity, poignant without being overbearing - and with no lyrics to preach, it’s all in the way that the beats land around you.
Things don’t always go the way you plan, but we’d all be lucky to make of a mess what Flume has made with this record.
Rating: 8.0/10
Best Tracks: Why; Rhinestone; beat 58
Worst Tracks: SPOKE 2 ALIENS FINALLY