Album: Flume – Things Don’t Always Go the Way You Plan

Fresh off topping Australia’s publicly voted triple j Hottest 100 with his 2022 track “Say Nothing” featuring MAY-A, versatile producer Flume dropped this surprise album. It’s designed to evoke a work in progress, with the cover depicting a computer desktop littered with digital files and the songs bearing provisional-style titles. That’s because these tracks are culled from across Flume’s career, with the years pinpointed in parentheses. Hailing from 2012, the oldest cut here is “Why 1.3”, a hazy earworm with serene shades of chillwave. Yet throughout these missives from assorted dates and phases, Flume maintains his knack for skittering, slightly surreal melodies calibrated to gorgeous effect. Among the dreamy instrumentals are several high-profile vocal cameos, beginning with Arizona rap duo Injury Reserve on hard-hitting opener “Counting Sheep (V2)”. Former Preatures lead vocalist Isabella Manfredi adopts a soulful purr in stark contrast with pitched-down vocals on the suitably bedazzled “Rhinestone 1.7.2”, while Panda Bear coos over soft keyboards and spectral background washes on the romantic ballad “One Step Closer 1.4”. As much as Flume might frame these as incidental works from his past, they make a definite impact.