Album Review: Chet Faker - Built On Glass

Chet Faker's debut drops just as he is about to rip it up on a tour of the UK this month. Success seems to come easily to this producer from Melbourne who managed to create a massive buzz of interest across the internet in 2011 with his surprising cover of Blackstreet's No Diggity. Although eagerly anticipated, Faker has taken his time in getting around to releasing this album. As a result Built On Glass is a well-rounded record, finding the producer continuing to think in intricately layered lo-fi textures to create mellow vibes that roll with laidback beats.

Faker's capacity to work with elements of R&B, soul, jazz and glitchy electronica to craft forward-thinking pop music is what sets his music apart from the pack. The star of this show is his soulful croon, which aches with emotion as he deals out introspective lyrics that reflect on life and relationships with a certain melancholy. At times he sings with a weathered bluesy rasp that suggests experience well beyond his years.

It's easy to sink deep into the slow-motion vibes of the album's opener, Release Your Problems, and once you've entered this immersive space Faker guides us through the length and breadth of this album. Elsewhere, Talk Is Cheap revives the art of the “pop” saxophone solo, while the electro lounge stylings of Melt see vocalist Kilo Kish adding a feminine perspective. It's a dreamy, sensuous sprawl of an album that's like waking from a dream by the time you reach the last track.