The wait that felt like eternity has come to and end, with the release of Flume‘s full length, sophomore album, ‘Skin‘.

After several months of hype building, feeding us just enough to get by in the way of singles from the LP, the full project is finally on the table.

Luckily, we were able to give the album a front-to-back listen prior to release, when Flume shared a pre-streaming video online; which has given us time to collect and verbalise our thoughts on ‘Skin‘.

The comments we read from Flume’s ever-building fan base were ones of both love and hate – a common occurrence for a musical figure that has reached the heights he has in – in the grand scheme of things – such a short amount of time. So here is what we think.

‘Skin‘, unlike his debut, self-titled album, is a step into a broader, large scale level of the music world that can be hard for some electronic artists to breach.

In his debut LP, Flume delivered a culmination of unique, never before heard sounds that were as shocking as they were inspiring in the way that they redefined what electronic music can be. With this, a whole new sub-genre of electronica was spawned, and the influence Flume has on the world of dance music has become immensely apparent.

Fast forward nearly 4-years on, with a catalogue of collaborations, remixes and originals that convey just how talented this dude is, we have a new album.

Unlike the first, this album is chock-full of collaborations. This is unsurprising, with the reputation Flume has built for himself, it’s no doubt these artists were cheerin’ when they got the call up. Artists such as Vic Mensa, AlunaGeorge, Tove Lo and Beck make up just a few of the featured artists on ‘Skin’, and this broad range of collaborators from different corners of the music world convey just how eclectic Flume’s range can be.

In a nutshell, the album has its monster moments in tracks like ‘Wall F**k’ – which seems to be Harley just letting loose and flaunting just how weird he can get – and it’s more melodic, timeless moments in tracks like ‘Never Be Like You’ featuring Kai, which has broken down the barriers of underground beat-making to mainstream pop.

Most importantly, ‘Skin‘ is approachable by all age brackets. I have even heard my own Mother dropping adlibs from ‘Never Be Like You’ as she potters around the house, and that, for someone who likes to think they’ve been onto Flume from early on, is humbling.

As a fellow Aussie, it’s bloody great to see Flume taking this route with his music. This album, with its crisp production and progressive sounds is another example of Flume raising the bar, which will in turn bring Australian dance music to even greater heights.

Stream ‘Skin’ below, give it a good listen through, and tell us what you make of it. You can order the album here.

Aus Tour Dates:

Friday, November 25 – Perth Arena, Perth
Thursday, December 1 – Riverstage, Brisbane
Friday, December 9 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Saturday, December 10 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Thursday, December 15 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Friday, December 16 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Saturday, December 17 – Entertainment Centre, Adelaide