The Kid Wonder Returns

After the unprecedented success of his first album, living up to the hype it generated was always going to be a tough feat – and the fact that Flume has kept us waiting almost 4 years for a second taste has only added fuel to the fire. Harley Streten – aka Flume – however, seems to be completely comfortable in taking it all in his stride.

Flume's latest drop reads almost like a portfolio - his self-titled debut got the world’s attention and succeeded in propelling him into the spotlight, and now Harley Streten is exploring the breadth of his skill set and wants us all to be a part of the journey.

The album opens with “Helix” - a bit of a mish-mash of sounds at first but stick with it and Flume treats you with that unmistakable sound you've missed so much since his debut. Suddenly, all the sounds that didn't seem to make sense together do, and we remember the reason why we fell in love with his music in the first place.

This slow build up is something that is echoed across multiple tracks on this album. Streton knows his fans are hungry, they've been waiting a long time for this and he's taking his time to give them what they’re looking for. Streton is eager to show us he can do a lot more than what we've seen so far - cater to more tastes, fill more stadiums. You can almost imagine the strobe light set up for the track “Free” (which, by the way, is a banger – listen to this one with your headphones plugged in and turned UP).

Streton’s readiness to learn, to explore new sounds and tap into new genres - and then to share this with the world is apparent with the nature of the album drop itself when Streton shared snippets of his new tracks online with short explanations behind what inspired them. My particular favourite share is when he describes the inspiration behind "Wall Fuck" as wanting to "create the sound of the universe tearing apart and being put back together". Lofty though that sounds, listening to the tune - I think he's done himself proud. A bit of a grower, this gritty track toys with multiple textures and rhythms, expertly keeping you guessing and wanting more.

"Smoke and retribution" - a track already released – also neatly slots into this album, showing us that despite his ventures into other genres, everything glows with that same Flume touch. This album is by no means flawless - there are certainly at least a couple of tracks on there I could take or leave (or just leave) - I'm just saying it's worth a listen. Or several. The kid's got talent.

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