Ladies and gentlemen, Pursuit of Dopeness’ resident electronic nerd is EATING, as Flume has released Things Don’t Always Go The Way You Plan, a project packed with B-sides from over the years that never got released or never found a home. Each track title ends with the year the song originates from, which is a really cool touch as you can listen and hear the “album era” that Flume was in when the song was produced; it all lines up with the timeframe. In turn, you can hear the evolution of Flume’s sound and how basic ideas would eventually make their way and influence later projects down the line. It’s essentially a Flume version of Untitled/Unmastered. A few songs stand out to me, so come take a seat at the buffet and let’s dive into my 5 personal favorites off the project.
“Counting Sheep (V2) [2018 Export Wav] ft. Injury Reserve”
A day before the project was released, the track list was available on Genius which was brought to my attention by the folks on the Flume subreddit. The first track that caught my eye was this one, predominantly for the Injury Reserve feature. Rest in Peace, Stepa J.
The production on this track goes so hard, the wobbly synth pairs really nicely with the trap drum beat driven by these interchanging super metallic hi-hat sounds and punchy snares. I hope you have your bass tuned up for this song, you’re going to want it blasting. Zuh zuh zuh, zuh zuh zuh.
“Rhinestone 1.7.2 [2018 Export Wav] ft. Isabella Manfredi“
Am I crazy or does this track sound like something Flume was to make in the 1980s? This song slaps. The beat even sounds like it’s made out of rhinestones, too. A very jewel-y, glamorous sound. The vocals from Isabella Manfredi are audibly glowing. I’ve had the hook stuck in my head since the project came out the other day. Definitely one of the more polished tracks on this record.
“Dream 1.2.2 [2016 Export Wav]“
“Dream 1.2.2” sounds like a predecessor to the tracks on mixtape Hi This is Flume (many tracks from this record do, but this one especially) yet the year in the title is 2016. That speaks volumes in the sense that for three years before the release of HTIF, Flume has been experimenting with granular synthesis to fine-tune that sound of his. It’s super interesting hearing this stuff. This isn’t a track I would turn on at a party or even in the car, but more so in a scenario where I want to experience/feel something.
“Beat 58 1.1 [2020 Export Wav]“
An off-kiltered pluck is the driving force behind this heater. When I listen, I keep thinking about whether or not the track would be stronger with or without some sort of vocal feature, but I’m really digging it the way that it is. It’s kind of peaceful in a sense. The effects on the pluck are really cool, it bounces around throughout the song from cut-off sidechaining to super reverb-y. All in all a great track.
“Close 1.2 [2016 Export Wav]“
An absolutely beautiful, cathartic soundscape. The core sound reminds me of the soundtrack to A24’s Hereditary. Synths constantly ringing on the high end and on the low end of the frequency spectrum is this horn-like bass that’s almost bone-chilling. It’s a mystified, weirdly hopeful tune that feels like it’d be the perfect closer to a record, but you find it in the middle of the tracklist. Like “Dream 1.2.2”, this song plays like an experience.
There are some serious gems on this project. I understand it’s nothing “complete” like a studio album, but it’s really cool diving in and listening to what Flume was working on in between albums. It’s a release completely out of left field just months from his fourth album in Palaces that came out this past September. Any and all Flume releases are welcome, and I’m super excited to see how he implements these tracks into his sets. Flume will be closing out Sunday of North Coast Music Festival here in Chicago later this year, so be sure to check out his set if you’re going, because what a treat that will be.
Stream Things Don’t Always Go The Way You Plan below!
Words by Arthur Siwek for Pursuit of Dopeness
