Synesthesia Review: Flame - Clouds EP

First things first... this is a debut album, not an EP. It's quite an amazing debut at that. That aside, Flame offers more of the same in a market suddenly filled with crooners.

The majority of the subject matter has been covered by every other artist of the 'new wave' ad nausea, but what sets Clouds apart is Flame's vocal abilities and ear for beat selection.

He doesn't stray outside of the comfort zone of he's vocal range. That makes for easy listening to those new to him and he's brand of music. He also doesn't experiment much, which is expected from a debut (I refuse to consider this an EP).

Just a quick look at the features and it's clear from the offset that it's nearly identical to that of A-Reece's sophomore effort that came out not too long ago. He even makes three appearances on Clouds, the same number that Flame makes on he's sophomore album.

The instrumentation really assists in making Clouds digestible in one listen. I've only heard it once, but these days I find any project boasting production from Zoocci Coke Dope worth listening to.

The first track that spring to mind when thinking of a standout is Stack It Up. The other two I enjoyed are Whole New Lane & Yung. Spanning 14 tracks (see why it's not an EP) it's littered with party jams and even attempts to pluck at the heartstrings with Trapped in My Conscious.

This is a very solid debut project from Flame and definitely worth another listen and some more listens after that.