Neō Wax Bloom

Iglooghost release his debut album, two years since he made his debut as a teenager on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder imprint with the Chinese Nü Year EP - four tracks documenting the time-traveling adventures of a gelatinous worm-shaped creature called Xiangjiao. Expanding on this story, Neō Wax Bloom follows the events surrounding two giant eyeballs crashing into the mysterious world of Mamu. Across its 11 tracks, Iglooghost builds a typically intense, hysterical, borderline batshit crazy soundtrack, introducing new characters to his fantastical world and inviting back old friends Mr. Yote and Cuushe for the ride.

Brainfeeder have pushed out into new waters over the past couple of years, with releases from Lapalux and DJ Paypal yoking decidedly futurist aesthetics to the label's classic template. This latest LP from Iglooghost goes even further down that rabbit hole, with EDM, juke, J-Pop, chiptune and much more all counted as weapons in the Irish producer's arsenal. The voracious postmodernism of Neō Wax Bloom would mean nothing, however, if Iglooghost wasn't an immaculate curator as well as creator. The attention to detail of tracks like White Gum and Teal Yomi/Olivine recalls SOPHIE and labelmate Daedalus - for even while they burst at the seams, every idea still manages to find its own space.

"Not a single bar is copy-pasted. For all its busyness, there's a stunning clarity and care given to individual sounds.

Neō Wax Bloom is an epic ode to short-attention spans that will make you glad it fried your brain with information and desensitised you to bright lights." 9/10 LOUD AND QUIET