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62. Built on Glass - Chet Faker (2014)

Alternative

The artist currently known as Nick Murphy first made major waves back in 2012 under the moniker Chet Faker, a playful homage to jazz musician Chet Baker. His stirring rendition of Blackstreet’s No Diggity was the lynch pin of his debut LP Thinking in Textures. The cover showcased his ultra groovy and spectacularly understated style. Seemingly singing out of the side of his mouth half the time, Murphy’s loungy crooning found immediate success and led to a collaboration with Flume, a fellow Australian also enjoying the early stages of commercial success. 

2014 marked the release of Faker’s full-length debut, Built on Glass, which deftly expounded upon the sonic atmosphere first cultivated on Thinking in Textures. With electronic bones girding a minimal, jazzy style all revolving around his effortlessly mesmerizing voice, the album was a definitive statement. The saxophones on lead single, Talk is Cheap, are the backup dancers to Faker’s poetic vocal delivery, which fluctuates between spoken word and a muted benzo-gospel. The production is voluminous, with layers and layers of emotion all underlied by mature electronic grooves with simple bass lines. Poppy gems Melt, Gold and 1998 are interspersed with introspective musings on Blush and Cigarettes & Loneliness. From start to finish, the album exudes a confidence and technical mastery rarely present on debut projects.

*image; cover art for the album Built on Glass by the artist Chet Faker