Palaces
| Flume
Palaces
Palaces is the third studio album by Australian electronic musician Flume, released on 20 May 2022 through Future Classic. It includes collaborations with Oklou, May-a, Quiet Bison, Kučka, Laurel, Virgen María, Emma Louise, Caroline Polachek and Damon Albarn. The album was announced alongside the release of lead single "Say Nothing", featuring May-a. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Although not without its inspired moments, Harley Streten’s third LP confirms that he’s most creatively free outside the album format.
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NME
On this third album, the musician couples his floor-shaking, hit-making style with quieter moments of introspection, reaching new heights in the process.
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Clash Magazine
While some of the more Top 40-driven tracks risk getting lost in the mammoth-like production value of his imaginative, left-field hyper pop tracks, the sum of the album is beautiful, intended to be enjoyed by both faithful Flume stans and new listeners drawn to the beauty of a cacophonous, glitched-out style popularised by super-producers like SOPHIE, Danny Harle, and more.
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The Line of Best Fit
Palaces is, overall, a decent album and one that would translate brilliantly to the live space. The second half of the album is definitely the stronger half, and the disappointing opening album track is definitely made up for with later album tracks like “Go” and “Get U”. Whilst some tracks are arguably a bit forgettable, this album is still full of some brilliant moments.
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Far Out Magazine
Palaces is a confusing record, and although it’s supposed to be about Flume’s return to the picturesque rural retreat of New South Wales, it’s not a theme that he tightly sticks to. It’s towards the end of the record when the album truly begins to heat up, and his collaboration with Emma Louise on ‘Hollow’ is made to make people dance en-masse at festivals. Unfortunately, it is followed by the ultra skippable ‘Love Light’, but thankfully the haunting Caroline Polacheck featuring ‘Sirens’ drags Palaces safely back to shore.
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mxdwn Music
It sounds ethereal and majestic as the name implies. Flume adds some distortion after the intro which transforms the piece into a more electronic-sounding one towards the middle, and then the main lyrics come in, followed by a beat that makes this song into the dynamic house piece that it is.
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When the Horn Blows
‘Palaces’ is a great introductory point for a new listener as it delivers on exploring the full range of Streten’s abilities. Sonic consistency is not what the album lacks, more conceptual refinement. But in terms of an album that pushes productional boundaries – Flume wholeheartedly delivers.
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DIY Magazine
This techno-charged offering upscales the drops, fidgety distortion and replay value that has proved a constant in his playbook.
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Spectrum Culture
Palaces is so obsessed with the serenity of open air that it forgets how much more exciting Flume is when he picks apart a single concept.
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musicOMH
The Australian producer’s latest gets stuck between innovation and the urge to party like it’s 2014.
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Dirty Disco
Flume’s New Album Palaces Is Mesmerizing.
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The Weekly Coos
There isn’t much to Palaces to recommend, albeit the few tracks highlighted. The highs are exponentially high, but the lows feel like being stuck in a broken half-empty pool. It’s astronomically low. It isn’t as concise or constructively intuitive. It’s just there, something you can push off to the side while checking out other electronic artists like Dezza.
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The Playground
Whether Palaces is a more successful intertwining of mainstream Flume with underground provocateur Flume is debatable, though the tracks that come closest to this shine fairly bright in the hallways of Palaces. There’s still something to Flume that feels ripe with potential, and perhaps Palaces will serve as the threshold necessary for him to crossover into the sorts of spaces where he’s at his best.
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Vinyl Me, Please
While the theme of nature itself is intended to drive the music, it falls a little short and lacks a cohesive, overarching sound. Despite this, Palaces finds Streten in his most natural state and in tune with himself as an artist. Even without cohesion, the album touts diversity and a robust view of Streten’s growth, where we as listeners can uncover something entirely different from anything he had previously released as Flume.
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The Needle Drop
Not as creative as the producer's 2019 mixtape, but not a bad effort either.
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The Daily Californian
Flume builds foundationally experimental, sonically pleasing ‘Palaces’.
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Lotus and Rose
With a slight penchant for rowdiness, it’s an album that lacks exactly what makes Flume’s music exciting.
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