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Album Review: Skin Companion EP II

Flume
Skin Companion EP II
Mom + Pop, Future Classic
https://flumemusic.com


Although generally pleasurable, there were some songs on Flume’s most recent studio album Skin that underperformed in the bedroom. But since releasing it last year, Harley Edward Streten has been wasting no time trying to make up for those shortfalls, releasing two EPs — the latest of which being the four song libido booster, Skin Companion EP II.  

Skin Companion II opens with the ominous, swirling synths of “Enough,” sounding like something straight out of a horror movie — it’s the sound of nightmares, or in M. Night Shyamalan’s case, his wet dream. Just as abruptly as the EP starts, rapper Pusha T growls his iconic “King Push,” and I instantly felt like I was in my own wet dream. The track hits hard as Pusha lays down verse after verse over Flume’s sinister barrage of erratic synth and bass. The sporadic twists of the beat leave you intoxicated and disoriented — imagine it as the sound of going on a coke binge, something equally fitting as Pusha raps about “what a brick weigh.”

“Weekend,” featuring Los Angeles-based R&B singer Moses Sumney, brings the EP back to a sobriety. The song’s soft pulse lulls you into a trance, before culminating in a hook where Sumney’s sultry voice breathes passion and sorrow as he sings “Silly me, for thinking you would want me longer.” It’s a real “cry as you masturbate to a picture of your ex-girlfriend while eating an extra large stuffed crust pizza from Little Caesar’s” kind of song; aka the soundtrack for a regular Friday night.

The most lackluster and uninventive cut on the EP is “Depth Charge,” the only pure instrumental installment on the tracklist. It sees Flume return to a more familiar, simpler sound, but feels safe among the other, more adventurous tracks, let alone the rest of the Skin collection. The fourth and final track, “Fantastic,” features Dave Bayley, from English indie/electronic group Glass Animals. The instrumental is simple and calm; the perfect canvas for Bayley’s milky voice, as he groans about the monotony of life. It’s nothing new to hear a miserable Brit complain about life and its dullness, but Bayley’s woe compliments the drowsy backing beat.

While this Skin Companion II does have its uninspired moments, it brings serious talent together in a unique way, as Flume usually does. He is able to contrast the brute power of Pusha T, with the sensuous hum of Sumney and the tortured tone of Bayley. Through several thematic tracks, Skin Companion EP II definitely compliments the Skin compilation as a whole. Don’t be afraid to add this EP to your “sExY tImE” playlist; with a run time of 17 minutes, you should be able to get some and enjoy the other 15 minutes and 30 seconds of the album.

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