![]() Weekend is easily something that could be a B-side of his debut, with a piano-laden, atmospheric production joining the soft, calming vocals of Moses Sumney, something that is replicated later on the EP’s closing single Fantastic, which features vocals from the Glass Animals lead-singer simply credited as Dave. Enough is about as heavy as a Flume production gets, with Kanye West collaborator Pusha T lending some relaxed flow above an aggressive beat that largely revolves around deep kicks of bass drum and crisp snare work. However, he does it in a way that the vocals are more of an accompaniment, and the instrumental sits first. Across the four tracks, the second Skin Companion EP is more vocal-dominated than the first. The second EP of the series, aptly named Skin Companion EP II, arrived today after being surprise-announced this time last week, building on where the first EP left off. ![]() Whether you agree with this or not, the Skin Companion EP series, the first of which arrived last year, fills the hole for Flume’s previous, more instrumental-flavoured productions, experimenting with twisting and turning productions that are more about building on his earlier instrumentals, not on his song-writing skills. Naturally, this didn’t sit well with everyone, with many arguing that it was an ‘easy sell-out’ to gain money and to bring Flume’s name to the next level, compromising his production skills in the process. It was more about showcasing song-writing and vocals, with restrained, laid-back productions sitting at bay to allow guest features by Kai, Tove Lo and others to shine in its place. For what it is, though- a standalone EP- it is a worthwhile moment of looseness, proving that, though Streten can be gratuitous, he also has his brief moments of casual greatness.For an artist whose popularity was built on the strong, instrumental productions of his self-titled debut record, Flume’s sophomore album Skin was a risky move. Together, these two tracks provide the bulwark of the EP, proving far more exciting than many of the leftovers that found their way into Skin’s generous runtime, more than making up for the EP’s weaker half, including a Chet Faker-lite Moses Sumney feature and a frivolous solo moment in “Depth Charge.” It’s worth bearing in mind however that, taken with the 24 other tracks Flume has released in the last year, Skin Companion EP II directs towards a broader, cohesive project somewhere amongst the glut. It could have easily slipped into Skin- not least where the misplaced Vic Mensa verse was prior- and provided that album a better hip-hop flank, matching well with Vince Staples’ similarly forceful “Smoke & Retribution.” Elsewhere, Glass Animals appear on closer “Fantastic,” providing their suitably Oxford-inspired, literary observations of television culture that defined the better part of last year’s How to Be a Human Being. Opener “Enough” features a reliably strong verse from Pusha T, who refuses to sing hooks, instead peddling bricks of cocaine with the hard-nosed braggadocio expected from the King. However, Straten’s relative economy of time- 16 minutes, as opposed to the laborious hour-length of this EP’s parent album- means that these tracks lend themselves better to self-curation and individual listening. Predictably, there’s very little flow with the material here- these are leftovers, natch- and the issues apparent on Skin as it relates to overproduction and excess are ever-present. On Harley Streten’s most recent batch of leftovers, the appropriate and boringly titled Skin Companion EP II, he provides another slice of ridiculous, in-your-face, blissed-out wonk, replete with samples, drums, and really big names in the parenthesis. It’s not a bad direction, per se, but it does lend itself to a quality of overproduction, as the ridiculously overcooked “Say It” and “Never Be Like You” can attest. ![]() If subtlety was the defining aspect of Flume’s debut, his most recent output with Skin leans hard in the opposite direction sensory overdrive, typified by duelling synth patterns, a constant barrage of trapped-up hi-hats, and big-name, out-of-place features. Review Summary: Everything that I say is everything that I mean.
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