Despite being part of the inescapable grasp of the chill-wave genre, Seth Haley, through his Com Truise pseudonym, manages to create a sound that is interesting and distinct. You could compare the ethereal lucidity of “Galactic Melt” to the sensation of travelling through space… but really the interpretive nature of the music allows it to mean whatever you want it to.
The album opener, “Terminal”, provides a short introduction to the rest of the album through an atmospheric smattering of blips and voices that are distorted beyond recognition. The abstract nature of the song might be offputting, but it creates certain expectations for the rest of the album. The voices are present in “VHS Sex”, about halfway through the album in “Flightwave”, and a few songs later in “Brokendate”. Each track develops differently and all are calming in their own way.
While many chill-wave artists struggle to find a happy medium between obnoxious repetition and overwhelming progression, Haley balances each track with skill, never relying on one particular technique to carry the album. His synth-heavy production may seem gimmicky to some but he’s crafted a particular style that rarely falters throughout the album.
Although stylistically similar, the tone of tracks vary greatly. “Glawrio” presents a soaring snyth line paired with a gravelly layer of electronic percussion, while an upbeat chord progression is slowly introduced. “Air Cal” provides an energetic, urgent beat with synth tangents over warped lasers. I suppose it’s difficult to ignore how intergalactic Com Truise sounds.
Thing is, Com Truise doesn’t diverge far from one sound: these songs can sound indistinguishable, even after a few listens. Truise does in fact manage to show some diversity of sound, but it could be lost on listeners who are interested in more, shall we say, “aggressive” music.
It’s a shame that this album came out after bands like Washed Out became popular since many listeners are likely to compare the two, which is unfair to both artists. Com Truise is more about experimental beat-making, not chill-wave for the masses. “Galactic Melt” may be a collection of danceable, lo-fi pop but the music is not for a diverse audience, which is understandable since the songs may come across as one-note at first. If you like one song on the album, chances are you’ll grow to love every song.
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