Over the course of nearly a decade, Jeremy Malvin has refined a singular brand of electronic music that is bright and glittery yet highly expressive and emotionally resonant. The producer and songwriter has progressed from making tracks in his dorm room at the University of Michigan to touring with a full band and building up an arsenal of vintage synthesizers, sharpening his songwriting chops as well as exploring more club-friendly rhythms. Recorded between his adopted home city of Brooklyn and a remote location in upstate New York, debut full-length
Chrome Sparks is a dazzling display of Malvin's ever-blossoming talents, maintaining the raw spirit of his humble beginnings while benefiting from expanded studio polish. His utilization of analog synths and drum machines sets his music apart from the sea of laptop-wielding peers he's often associated with, yet his music never sounds overtly retro, nor does it sound like he's attempting to jump on the synthwave bandwagon. His tracks maintain a heavy low-end bounce to them, with beats ranging from intricate, inventive electro to slow, booming head-nodders. What matters most are the surging rushes of feelings expressed through Malvin's music. His songs don't always include vocals, and even when they don't, the rich melodies pull much of the emotional weight. The most accessible songs on
Chrome Sparks display his unique mastery of pop songcraft.
Body Language's Angelica Bess (who previously graced songs by
Giraffage and
Machinedrum) sounds urgent yet smooth on the neon electro cut "What's It Gonna Be," and breaks hearts on the horn-laden ballad "All or Nothing." "Still Think" is extremely direct, with manipulated voices repeating "'Cause I think about you all the time" over bubbling synths, bursting into starry tears near the end of the song. "I Just Wanna" starts off as a blurry haze of drum machines before
Kllo singer Chloe Kaul pulls things into focus, elevating the track's energy while still remaining a bit fuzzy and abstract. "To Eternity" ends the album with a psychedelic comedown worth of French duo
Air, filled with chic vocoders and meteor showers of sparkling synths.
Chrome Sparks is undoubtedly the most impressive, accomplished work by Malvin thus far, surpassing the potential of his earlier EPs and further establishing him as an important artist. ~ Paul Simpson