Palaces
Studio album by
Flume
Released20 May 2022 (2022-05-20)
GenreElectronic
Length46:15
LabelFuture Classic
Producer
Flume chronology
Quits
(2019) 		Palaces
(2022) 		Things Don’t Always Go the Way You Plan
(2023)
Singles from Palaces
  1. "Say Nothing"
    Released: 2 February 2022
  2. "Sirens"
    Released: 30 March 2022[1]
  3. "Escape" / "Palaces"
    Released: 24 April 2022[2]
  4. "Hollow"
    Released: 18 May 2022

Palaces is the third studio album by Australian electronic musician Flume, released on 20 May 2022 through Future Classic. It includes collaborations with Oklou, May-a, Quiet Bison, Kučka, Laurel, Virgen María, Emma Louise, Caroline Polachek and Damon Albarn. The album was announced alongside the release of lead single "Say Nothing", featuring May-a.[3]

At the 2022 ARIA Music Awards, the album earned Flume a nomination for ARIA Award for Best Solo Artist and album was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Release, Best Cover Art, Best Produced Album and Best Mixed Album.[4]

The album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year at the 2022 J Awards.[5]

Background and recording

After returning to Australia following the end of his world tour in support of Skin (2016) and Hi This Is Flume (2019), Flume moved to a coastal town in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, where he says he found "inspiration from the flora and fauna surrounding him". He also made field recordings of birds, which are used throughout the album.[6] According to Flume, the album was also influenced by late Scottish producer Sophie.[7]

Release and promotion

Flume announced the album and its track listing on 2 February 2022, also releasing the song "Say Nothing" featuring May-a as the album's lead single and its music video the same day. The video contains similar visuals to those Flume uploaded on his NFT website throughout 2021.[8] Flume said the track is about "feelings of post relationship clarity" and was written "midway through 2020 while the pandemic was still pretty new", although it was finished in early 2021.[9] "Sirens" featuring American singer Caroline Polachek, was released as the second single on 30 March 2022.[10] "Escape", co-produced by Quiet Bison and featuring Australian singer Kučka, and "Palaces" featuring British singer Damon Albarn, were released as a double single on 24 April 2022.[11] "Hollow" featuring Australian singer Emma Louise was released on 18 May 2022 as the fourth single.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash7/10[13]
DIY[14]
The Line of Best Fit6/10[15]
musicOMH[16]
NME[17]
Pitchfork6.5/10[18]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on 6 reviews.[12]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Flume, except where noted.

Palaces track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Highest Building" (featuring Oklou)
3:36
2."Say Nothing" (featuring May-a)
 3:52
3."DHLC"Streten 2:18
4."Escape" (with Quiet Bison featuring Kučka)
  • Flume
  • Quiet Bison
4:02
5."I Can't Tell" (featuring Laurel)
 3:51
6."Get U"Streten 4:14
7."Jasper's Song"
  • Streten
  • Jasper Harris
 3:01
8."Only Fans" (featuring Virgen María)
 2:24
9."Hollow" (featuring Emma Louise)
  • Flume
  • Quiet Bison
3:53
10."Love Light"Streten 2:40
11."Sirens" (featuring Caroline Polachek)
  • Flume
  • Harle
3:58
12."Go"Streten
3:35
13."Palaces" (featuring Damon Albarn)
  • Flume
  • Clams Casino
4:51
Total length:46:15
Palaces (Deluxe edition)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Miss U"Streten4:09
15."Jasper’s Song (Version 1)"
  • Streten
  • Jasper Harris
5:47
Total length:56:11

Charts

Chart performance for Palaces
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 139
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 18
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 74
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[25] 6
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[26] 80
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] 9
US Billboard 200[28] 162
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[29] 21
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[30] 1

References

  1. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (30 March 2022). "Flume and Caroline Polachek share new song "Sirens": Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Flume Releases Two New Album Singles "Escape" & "Palaces"". Cultr. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  3. ^ Minsker, Evan (2 February 2022). "Flume Announces New Album Palaces, Shares Video for New Song Featuring May-A: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  4. ^ Lars Brandle (12 October 2022). "Rüfüs Du Sol Leads 2022 ARIA Awards Nominees (Full List)". The Music Network. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Here's all the J Awards 2022 nominees!". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  6. ^ Gallagher, Alex (3 February 2022). "Flume Announces New Album 'Palaces', Shares MAY-A Collab". Music Feeds. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  7. ^ Krol, Charlotte (17 May 2022). "Flume on "nervous" stint working with Damon Albarn and how SOPHIE helped him make new album". NME. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  8. ^ Weisband, Sami (2 February 2022). "Flume introduces new LP, 'Palaces' with lead single, 'Say Nothing' featuring MAY-A and full tracklist". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  9. ^ Jenke, Tyler (3 February 2022). "Flume Announces First New Album Since 2016, 'Palaces'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  10. ^ Heffler, Jason (30 March 2022). "Listen to Flume's Haunting New Single "Sirens" From Upcoming Third Album". EDM.com. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  11. ^ Sunkel, Cameron (26 April 2022). "Flume Drops Two Mind-Bending Singles From Forthcoming Third Album, "Palaces": Listen". EDM.com. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Palaces by Flume Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  13. ^ Carter, Ruby (19 May 2022). "Flume – Palaces". Clash. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  14. ^ Hamilton-Peach, Chris (20 May 2022). "Flume – Palaces". DIY. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  15. ^ Fleming, Bella (16 May 2022). "Flume's Palaces is as surprising as it is forgettable". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  16. ^ Devlin, Ben (18 May 2022). "Flume – Palaces". musicOMH. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  17. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (20 May 2022). "Flume – 'Palaces' review: Australian producer's Damon Albarn-featuring ode to nature". NME. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  18. ^ D'Souza, Shaad (24 May 2022). "Flume: Palaces Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Flume – Palaces". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Flume – Palaces" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Flume – Palaces" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Flume – Palaces". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Flume – Palaces". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Flume Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Flume Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Flume Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
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