Com Truise: Galactic Melt

Com Truise
Galactic Melt
Rating: Meh

Although he works under numerous monikers, Seth Haley is best known for his work under the Com Truise name, mixing heady 80s electronic synthpop with a more overtly funky tone. His Cyanide Sisters EP brought him much welcome attention, showcasing his natural, low-key style. Galactic Melt doesn't necessarily divert from that approach, instead, choosing to refine and hone that sound, somewhat to diminishing returns.

After a brief, ominous intro track, the album kicks off with a three track trifecta that really showcases his style. "VHS Sex" is all deep bass, crisp drum programming, and cool sex appeal.



"Cathode Girls" mixes skittering bass with melting synth blasts.



And "Air Cal" sounds like a bizarre collaboration between Boards of Canada and some 80s R&B band; pastoral electronic funk.



After this brilliant opening salvo, Galactic Melt doesn't so much lose focus as suffers from a bit of monotony. Haley sticks within the same parameters which tends to make most of the tracks bleed into one another. Each song has the same enigmatic synth opening, pitch-shifted samples, funky bass synth, and crisp drum machines. "Flightwave" and "Brokendate" are almost the identical song.





"Glawio" meanders along lazily with no real sense of adventure or purpose.



And "Ether Drift" lives up to its title, drifting hazily along with twinkly keyboards; the midpoint electro break not enough to rescue the song from tedium.



"Futureworld" at least closes out on a high note, the low, funky bass lines anchoring the frenetic synth runs, echoing the work of early Future Sound of London.



There is nothing about Galactic Melt that is horrible in any way. The production is clean and crisp, and it sounds great. Haley is obviously a very talented producer, however, what worked well on his short form EP, gets a little lost in translation on a full length. With more variety and better pacing, those small issues will easily be resolved. We'll just call this a slight misstep, but still a producer to watch.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.