Review Summary: Even today, Shlohmo’s best.
So Shlohmo is kind of awesome. He’s only released two albums and a couple of EPs, but has done more genre work than most of his contemporaries, save Flying Lotus. Originally a student of the LA-beat school, his compositions evolved to include elements of UK bass, R&B and trap. He went from being near indistinguishable from genre peers Shigeto and Nosaj Thing into being his own separate entity, complete with signature production stylings and an almost immaculate aesthetic. What helped him create this image wasn’t any one album or EP, but the collection and its shows of progression. But if one single point in his discography were to be indicated as a pivotal point, “Vacation” would be that point.
Right off the pleasant but ephemeral beat-work of second album “Bad Vibes,” Shlohmo was at an impasse. His music, while in the process of simple refinement, wasn’t necessarily changing. He’d fallen upon a singular songcrafting philosophy, and nearly half his album suffered for it. It was at this career nadir that Shlohmo dropped “Vacation,” easily his most diverse and purposeful release yet. “Vacation” was the first true Shlohmo release that demanded attention and attraction, oozing a pure and untouchable air of experimentalism that no other release at the time did. The first track is straight-up post-dubstep, with its skittering beat and heavily modified vocal sample. The arrangement is simple in the best possible way, embracing a compositional minimalism that rivals Burial. The centerpiece of this EP/single is “Wen Uuu,” which is quite possibly the best track that Shlohmo has made for himself (his work with How to Dress Well and Banks is also quite good). It’s essentially pop-R&B, and it delivers a hook-laden arrangement with sensuality for miles. It’s no surprise that this is one of Shlohmo’s defining tracks. It’s near perfect in its simplicity and delivery; the chopped up vocal sample emotes in a way that original vocals on most top 40 R&B/pop songs just don’t.
And something must be said for the emotive quality of this release: the vocal samples on the first two tracks scream out for love and attention in their non-lyrics. The wails of the unnamed heroine on “The Way U Do” is near-heartrending, and the stop-start cries on “Wen Uuu” is infectious as all hell while still holding a razor-sharp emotional edge. “Rained the Whole Time” doesn’t even feature vocals, but it’s bluesy chord progression and IDM bleeps lend it a noir feeling. Taken as a whole, the raw emotion of this release is enough to bring an emotionally bankrupt person to tears, whether they be tears of elation or melancholy. It’s incredibly rare to have a release this wall-to-wall good, and for it to be from an artist as adventurous as Shlohmo is an added bonus.
From a musical standpoint, there are a lot of ideas flying around on this short release. From the aforementioned LA-beat scene comes the typical wonky-beat construction and hip-hop cadence, but Shlohmo also brings with him ideas from the playbooks of James Blake (most notably on “Rained the Whole Time”), Nujabes and Four Tet. There are moments in all these songs that echo some of the best moments from Blake’s debut and even the classic “Rounds” LP. But even these connections are somewhat strenuous, as Shlohmo crafts a sound almost all his own on this collection of tracks, and, if his more recent output is any indication, it’ll be a sound relegated solely to this collection.
