This is the full-length studio debut from Shaftesbury, Dorset, England, United Kingdom electronic music producer Iglooghost. Dropping his debut mixtape Comet_Camping (Brkfstttt) in 2013, he would go on to follow it up with his debut extended play Twenteen & its successor Treetunnels preceding Flying Lotus signing him to Brainfeeder Records. His debut for the label Chinese Nü Yr on Devil’s Night 2015 became some of the most creative wonky music of that year, coming off Little Grids to make bigger waves with Neō Wax Bloom.
“Pale Eyes” embarks on our trip by embracing a prominently ambient composition up until the final minute of it whereas the Brazilian folk-inspired “Super Ink Burst” works in a crazy saxophone sample that I can’t get enough of. “Bug Thief” blends glitch hop, wonky, footwork jungle, IDM, halftime, bubblegum bass, UK bass, footwork, future bass, grime, EDM glitch hop & nu jazz for a complexly playful lead single just before “Sōlar Blade” culminates in the styles wonky, glitch hop, UK bass, IDM, bubblegum bass, grime, footwork, drill & bass, kawaii future bass, hybrid trap, brostep, dariacore, footwork jungle, jazz fusion, halftime & digital fusion.
Glitch hop, bubblegum bass, UK bass, grime, wonky, hardcore breaks, drill & bass, deconstructed club, hybrid trap and future bass all collide on the single “White Gum” to end the 1st leg until “Purity Shards” kicks off the opening 99 second of the 2nd half incorporating some heavy vibraphones for this whimsical intermission. “Zen Champ” continues by going for a varied direction by hooking up some of the craziest percussion on the entire LP & samples a bird laughing while “Infinite Mint” featuring Cuushe marks one of many moments where “Gold Tea” gets flipped.
“Teal Yomi / Olivine” featuring Mr. Yote rounds out 3rd with a 2-parter where I prefer “Olivine” over “Teal Yomi” mostly because of the way he counters the latter’s hyperactivity by shifting towards a hip hop while Little Grids’ intro “Peanut Choker” reappears with it’s dense fusion of wonky, footwork, bubblegum bass, hybrid trap, dubstep & adding a guitar near the final moments of it. “Göd Grid” finally sends off with an outro that took him 3 months to complete because of it’s fast tempo & trimming it in half after being displeased with the 64 bars he removed from the final version.
I’m not sure if anything can dethrone Kamasi Washington’s 3rd album The Epic’s spot as Brainfeeder’s greatest musical statement, but Neō Wax Bloom would have to be a close 2nd. His production’s more maximalist than Chinese Nü Yr’s & eclectically explores UK bass, wonky, halftime, bubblegum bass, glitch hop, drill & bass, footwork, future bass, grime, hybrid trap, glitch pop, halftime, deconstructed club, footwork jungle, footwork jungle, IDM, EDM glitch hop, nu jazz, kawaii future bass, brostep, dariacore, jazz fusion, digital fusion & hardcore breaks depicting primally religious themes.
Score: 4.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 