Following 2016's
Divide and Conquer EP, Australian electronic producer
What So Not took the project in a more structured direction for his debut full-length, Not All the Beautiful Things.
What So Not recruited some inspired guests and fellow Aussies for the album, resulting in a pleasant journey through different pockets of electronic dance featuring a handful of synth throbbers and pretty electronic soundscapes. Less atmospheric and woozy than his previous releases, Beautiful Things features high-energy inclusions like the stomping
Skrillex cut "Goh," the hypnotic, tribal "Beautiful" with
Winona Oak, and a pair of rap-centric tracks with
Rome Fortune, Tommy Swisher, and James Earl ("Demons") and
Michael Christmas and Tobi Lou ("Monsters"). In addition to multiple highlights courtesy of
Daniel Johns (
Silverchair,
the Dissociatives), Beautiful Things also unveils a surprising collaboration with
Toto on the
Imagine Dragons-esque "We Keep on Running." While the album can occasionally sound like a mishmash of multiple artists vying for the same spotlight,
What So Not at least keeps the energy flowing, whipping between cavernous bass booms and slick sensuality as Beautiful Things takes its last breath on the digitized drone of "Us." ~ Neil Z. Yeung