Hi, everyone. Chilly! Chilly! Chilly! Wooo! Wooo! Tano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new Iglooghost album, Tidal Memory XO.

This is the latest full-length LP from producer, composer, vocalist, textualizer, conceptualizer, Iglooghost, and elusive UK electronica wizard demon that I expected big things from when I first heard his breakout EP, Chinese New Year, in 2015. A small project of dizzying, glitchy, bubble gum bass and wonky bangers that I believe were supposedly meant to soundtrack the adventures of a dimension-hopping worm. Early on, the only thing more colorful than Iglooghost music were the cartoony narratives that were canonically attached to it.

Meanwhile, on the music side, Iglooghost was truly doing some mind-bending and boundary-pushing stuff on his full-length debut, Neo Wax Bloom, which was great in its own right. However, it was hard to imagine him pass this album, pushing things much further in an obvious way or a way that escalates things. Because what do you do past this record, make an album that's even faster, more jittery, more rhythmically dense, and melodically intricate?

It took several years past this record for us to get a proper full-length follow-up. And while I wasn't crazy about it, I think Iglooghost did the most sensible thing that he could here in stripping things back, experimenting with a different instrumental palate. One that embraced elements of classical music and chamber stuff, matched with the glitchy and complex beats Iglooghost is known for. There were also more vocal-led tracks on this record. Some songs were really giving Björk vibes, too.

However, Iglooghost is going for something completely different on this new LP, something that his most recent album couldn't have prepared us for. And honestly, in a weird way, Title Memory XO sounds exactly like how the cover of the album looks.

And keep in mind, this image is so outlandish. I had to wonder if it was AI when I first came across it.

This record essentially sounds like a mysterious DJ doing the most epic, futuristic set in the middle of the frigging ocean as he's hit with cold fronts of icy synthesizers, tidal waves of massive, saturated bass, with a mist of stuttering, disorienting beats, swirling around everything, and also on top of that, vocals that are just drowning in all of the mayhem.

It was pretty clear with this record that we were going to be in for a tone shift with the first taste of it that we had, "Coral Mimic." It's like this nightmarish, eerie combination of driving rave rhythms, trance synths that are all fed into this murky post-punk atmosphere. This track is just one slice of the vibes and styles that have been into the DNA of this record as listening to the entire thing reveals that Iglooghost has assembled a real tapestry of genres that he's pulling down into the briny deep.

"New Species," for example, was another teaser to the record that sounds like some experimental hip-hop hybrid loaded with skittering synths, bass, and vocals. The lyrics of the track describe what feels like some fever dream where you can't gain control. I love that they contribute to some greater conceptual cohesion across the record, even if the rapping and talk-singing isn't quite up to snuff and is just a little dodgy in the mix. Deeper into the record, we have "Alloy Flea," which is a vast and multi-phased mash of head nodding IDM that eventually progresses into this high BPM galloping techno finish.

There are a few super-fitting vocal guests on the record, too. "Spawn01," which is an entrancing trip-hop cut that vibes like some of the prettier and more tender moments from Igloo's last LP. But this time around, the vocal parts catchier, the beats smoother. The sonic palate of this song just contributes to this greater picture across the record.

"flux•Cocoon" brings a bit of two-step for you into the fold with some mystical synth leads. Iglooghost also brings some vocals to this track, and believe it or not, there's some sensual chemistry there that I was not expecting, but works really well. Meanwhile, "Pulse Angel" surprisingly sees him dabbling in a bit of UK drill with all the complex rhythms and sliding portamento bass, which is insane to hear in the context of all of these watery phased-out textures and effects.

Things switch up once again on the track "Echo Lace," the first leg of which has the groove and the vibe of a moody indie tune that slowly grows into this booming warehouse rave. Then, "Nematode" is a groovy electro track that would go off in the warehouse, too. Following this, the "Chlorine•FM" interlude only contributes to the vibe that we're having a mix or a suite, an assembly of tracks curated for us as we're scanning the FM band.

Then from there, the record goes into a decent enough ending. The chaotic germ "Germ Chrism" brings an insane level of tension with sinister spoken word passages that sound like someone in my nightmares narrating my dreams for me. The beats are some of the most chaotic on the entire record, too. What confuses me, though, is how quickly all of it melts away in of this very chill ambient techno outro.

Then "Dew Signal," I think, is one of the weaker moments here as it sees Iglooghost painting himself in a corner a bit with this whole UK drill thing. While I do think he brings an interesting twist to it, this track doesn't really offer anything previous ones didn't already in the tracklist. But then after this, I do think Iglooghost saves one of the best tracks for last with the closer, one of the prettiest and most glitchy for sure.

This album overall, while I could have surely used some more variety and variation, I think that truly is the lifeblood of the album. Tidal Memory XO still has a lot to offer, especially when it comes to the layers and details that will have you fully immersed in this record for weeks and weeks, if not months, eating up new little things that you catch every single time you listen to the album.

Sometimes I do feel like the tracks are a bit too scuzzed and fuzzed, and I could have used a a little more clarity on the vocal side, especially here and there. As long as I'm complaining, the intro track on this record is really bland and uninspired for an album that is as wild as this is. It's just weirdly unceremonious given everything that comes after it.

With that being said, I still think this record proves that Iglooghost is one of the most creative, daring, and unique producers out there today. Even if this album does have a few minor issues and shortcomings, it's definitely going to be one of my favorite electronic music projects of the year.

Feeling a light to decent 8 on this one.

Anthony Fantano, Iglooghost. Forever.