Shlohmo is the guise under which 19 year old, Henry Laufer releases music. His album ‘Shlomoshun Deluxe’ was created in the most lo-fi conditions possible, most recordings were done merely with the use of a laptop. Interesting, I thought and my excitement to hear the fusions of this neu-bass musician were fueled further by my curiosity.

I was always under the impression that music, like all art, was primarily about communicating emotion. I thought it was about melody, feeling and passion. There are millions of different emotions one can feel and this album does little to bring any of them to surface. Unfortunately, the problem with experimental music like this is that if you critique it, it turns around and accuses you of being unable to understand it. It points the finger and calls you narrow-minded and conservative.

Let’s not get off on the wrong foot though. The first track ‘Tomato Squeeze,’ in all honesty, is probably one of the only two tracks on this album that speak to me. A seductive beat eventually kicks in and is gloriously decorated with crystalline synthesizers and psychedelic twists. Laufer sets the bar on this track with competent arrangements, beats and instrumentation. He is able to surpass this bar only once in the course of the album and this occurs on ‘Antigravity (Fuelgance Remix)’. This is possibly the only track on the album which portrays Laufer’s full potential with some hardcore groove beats. Dirty and instinctual, undoubtedly the best track on the album and the only one displaying any true passion.

The second track, ‘7 am,’ is weaker than the first but bearable despite the elevator synthesizers and samples that sound like they were recorded inside the lungs of someone with severe bronchitis. With every consecutive track, Laufer misses the bar he set with the first song and the passion he conveys in the Antigravity remix is nowhere to be heard. ‘Spoons’ is almost painful to listen to, I mean this quite literally. The frequencies of sound used are close to recreating that feeling you get when someone scratches a blackboard and yet, I’m still listening to it, trying to decipher what Laufer wants to say. ‘Post atmosphere’ is far too busy in all the wrong places, with no emphasis on anything in particular. There is little point in me analyzing each track, the verdict from here on is the same. Badly thought out, badly arranged and badly executed tracks.


Perhaps with some new arrangements and a little clarity of thought, this could be a decent experimental album but at the moment it is noise pollution. When the songs aren’t failing miserably due to being far too busy, they are failing because they aren’t being showcased in the correct manner. There is no peak in the album or in any individual song for that matter, making this album a collection of sounds rather than a collection of songs.

I could continue on this topic for another few paragraphs but I feel I have said all that is necessary. It all comes down to one thing. Emotion. And I don’t feel it. I know it’s there, I can hear it in the Fuelgance Remix in the same way I can hear the potential for some tribal dance anthems, but I’m not convinced. Luckily, Laufer is still young enough to have many years of inspiration ahead. Maybe next time, but for now this album is a definite no.