★★★★☆
Flume has always been one of my favorite artists, with his electro-pop style of music. In this album his first song Helix begins quiet then slowly begins to pick up. It never fully does, it continues to build and then abruptly stops, before continuing on to a new style in the song, which builds in itself. The second build seems more organic to me and ends up dropping and wrapping up the end of the song. Never Be Like You is one of my favorite songs currently and is the next song on the album. This song was released as a single and did great on the charts. Kai, the featured singer, compliments Flume’s music so well and I am obsessed with the chorus and beat of this song. Lose It featuring Vic Mensa starts out a little odd but then Mensa lays down some lines and it works with the strange beat. I am not a huge fan of Mensa’s voice and would almost prefer the song without his addition.
Numb and Getting Colder featuring Kucka is exactly what the title says. The beat and music of the song seems cold in the beginning of the song and stays with this feeling throughout the song, though not as strongly to me. Kucka voice is high and nice compared to the harsher melody Flume creates. Say It has a female voice in it and it the main focus in the beginning of the song. The music is very quiet while there is a voice. Once the chorus came I began to enjoy this song much more. The beat picked up and I could hear Flume’s music and influence of the song. While the song was good, I wish the voice didn’t overpower the beat on everything besides the chorus. Wall F- is amazing. That is what I’m starting by saying. The beat immediately makes me freak out in a good way. It is so different from what other artists similar to Flume create and so I really dug it. It was somewhat aggressive but still intimate. This song is on my favorites of this album list mainly because of it out of this world beat.
Pika is also another great song. Maybe I like this song and the others ones I do more because there is no voice or the voice isn’t a big focus. Smoke and Retribution featuring Vince Staples and Kucka is another on of my favorites even though there is a rap. I love rap as well, and this I felt did work with the song. You could still hear Flume’s beat and Kucka’s addition on the chorus is really well done to me. Staples verses were strong, without overpowering the other aspects of the song. 3 is another oh my gosh song. The beat is so strong in the song that I immediately love it and its accent of vocals. When Everything Was New has kids sounding in the background, which is a relation to the title in my opinion. The beat never picks up, which might be what Flume wanted, and it worked with the song. You Know featuring Allen Kingdom and Raekwon is another song with rap/R&B verses. I really enjoyed the rap in this song because they had strong meanings. Take a Chance has a soft vocal in it and has a good meaning. The song gets more upbeat yet still stays calm. Innocence featuring Aluna George has another soft female vocal. The beat in this song is stronger than the previous though. Like Water featuring MNDR is another favorite because of its beats. Just listen and you’ll see what I mean. Free is an conflicting song for me. I don’t know if I like it or not. I get impatient and really wish the beat dropped earlier but I still liked the beat that did play and built.
The final song Tiny Cities featuring Beck sounds like a final song for an album. Beck’s voice is really nice in the song and the song feels like is wrapping up the album in a nice happy feel. I could see this song play at the end of a movie and the end of a fun day. Overall I really enjoyed this album and will still continue to listen to Flume and this album.