Flume

Flume, Transgressive ****

Sydney producer Harley Streten's debut album is a tribute to wayward attention spans. Over the course of 50 minutes, Streten finds space to flex his electro, soul, r'n'b, pop and bass muscles to produce a rich, detailed, infectious array of sounds. But sounds alone aren't enough to grab your attention, and Streten also has a great sense of songcraft and vocal placement. With help from vocalists such as Chet Faker, George Maple (superb on Bring You Down) and Jezzabell Doran, Streten lets the hooks pull in the listeners. What is interesting throughout is how he can fizz and fuzz with the sonic parameters of a track, yet never lose sight of the need to keep a melody in play. It's a smart trick, one that makes tracks such as Sinatra and Sleepless such instant hits. An example that pop doesn't always have to follow the usual formula to make an impact. flumemusic.com

Download: Sinatra, Bring You Down, Sleepless