Album Review: Flume - Skin

Sydney's wunderkind Harley Streten (aka Flume) is back with his eagerly anticipated second album Skin and it's almost perfection. This 16-track masterpiece is full of eclectic beats with a wide range of local and international collaborators that will leave you licking ya lips.

The anticipation builds in opener Helix, as Flume introduces flute sounds that become synthesised into a sick electronic beat that keeps building. On single Never Be Like You, Canadian singer-songwriter Kai's smooth vocals give the track a hook with catchy repetitive lyrics, "I'm only human can't you see?" accompanied by Flume's trap and bass  — it's like a match made in heaven.

Hip hop beats take over in Lose It with Vic Mensa; where rapping meets electronica that makes you lose it. But sadly Allan Kingdom and Raekwon collab You Know is a hit and miss track. Instrumentals are what Flume does best and on Wall Fuck he slams repetitive sub bass beats while Free and Pika utilise softer, but still playful, hypnotic melodies. Flume gives listeners a taste of Sweden with Little Dragon featuring in Take A Chance — one of the album's softer tracks — before Tove Lo steals the show on Say It, with an underlying pop aesthetic that could see it making its way through mainstream channels.

Flume has delivered a unique, addictive and fun album that reminds fans his electronic capabilities are endless. If you weren't a fan before, this album will infect you with its synths and convert you.