Teen Daze - Bioluminescence

Teen Daze
Bioluminescence
2019
Spotify

Teen Daze never ceases to excite with each new release. Over the past four years He has been able to release some of the most varied music in his career spanning from ambient electronica to the sound of a rock hitting the water. He expertly blends the analogue and the electronic into one unified experience. This new record Biolumenescence continues down that path and all but cuts lyrics completely out of the equation. He dives deeper into the ambient on this record, cultivating experience through sheer musical power. This album also finds Teen Daze drifting back towards his dance music past. "Hidden Worlds" is far dancier than anything He has released as of late and puts this wonderful groove right down on the floor. The album sort of vacillates between these two ideas, airy indie dance and pure atmospheric exploration. The times He dives into the more standard dance tracks fall a bit flatter than the rest of the album. It's when He is really dialed in to capturing some sort of specific time and place that He is the most successful. "Ocean Floor" feels like a varied and wild place where around each new corner you are bound to find something deeply fascinating. There is a clear beat, but it sort of swirls and changes throughout the track giving you this real liquid feel. It is something that Teen Daze is incredibly good at, capturing real-time moments and allowing them to hold more meaning then they may otherwise have.

This record, and most of Teen Daze for that matter, is all about creating a sense of space. He stretches you out and then focuses your attention to one specific thing. It is sort of the opposite approach that most musicians take because they are trying to connect to one big idea and then elaborate from there. Teen Daze strips that away and instead asks you to get small. The one simple line of piano amongst the distant fuzz on "An Ocean on the Moon" feels eerie and foreign, much like the idea He is trying to harness. "Drifts" is similar in the way that it slowly approaches it's idea, but never tries to force it on you. The album closes with "Endless Light" and it sort of sums up the whole scope of the album. It does some meandering, but then lands on this sparse beat that has enough to dance to, but in no way has the feel of a typical dance track. Teen Daze continues to impress, and continues to do things in a different and exciting way. I can't wait to hear what's next, but I'm content to spin this again and again.

8.6 out of 10