After releasing
Drift, his first album,
Jason Chung diversified. He remixed
the xx's "Islands,"
Charlotte Gainsbourg's "Heaven Can Wait," and a piece of Phillip Glass'
Einstein on the Beach, and he also produced
Kendrick Lamar's "Cloud 10." Given that activity, the mellowness and restraint of his second album is surprising. A pair of collaborations with vocalists actually heightens its pained, private sound; they both convey the feeling of regretfully watching a relationship slip away. "Eclipse/Blue," featuring
Blonde Redhead's
Kazu Makino, switches from anxious thumps to hovering textures, while "Try," featuring
Chaz Bundick (
Toro y Moi)," is soft, fuzzy, and slightly off-center. Those appearances have a kind of lingering effect on the nine remaining tracks, all instrumentals. The glinting "Glue" and well-titled "Snap" excepted, they lack the muscle of
Chung's earlier releases, but they're more evocative -- detailed enough to withstand numerous plays whenever comforting, if downcast and unobtrusive hip-hop is sought. ~ Andy Kellman