Tupperwave - Until We Meet Again ALBUM REVIEW

 

7.3/10

Tupperwave sheds his creative skin once again with a more traditional take on vaporwave.

Tupperwave is a vaporwave producer mainly known for his works in the subgenres of future funk and vaporfunk - but it's really only when you look at the guy's discography that you realise just how MUCH he's made. From glitchy yet subdued vaporwave harkening back to albums like "Floral Shoppe", to signalwave, and even dark ambient. Tupperwave is an artist that proves it's OK to not make one specific style for your entire career, and that stays true in his latest effort, "Until We Meet Again".

"Until We Meet Again" is a very brief album at around 12 minutes in length, and on it we see Tupperwave creating some traditional vaporwave in the same vein as Diskette Romance's self-titled project, or even some of the poppier cuts on "Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1". Most of the music on this project sounds very heavenly and laid-back - this project ends up feeling like you're on a cruise ship headed towards some island getaway.

It starts off with the song "Cloud Surfing" which I think is a great way to start the album. It's a very simple song with only a 9-second loop repeated for just under two minutes - but the result is a dreamy and luxurious track which is definitely one of my favourites here.

After that comes what I think is this album's BEST song, "Hotel Euphoria". This song feels much more grandiose than the intro, it feels like looking up at a giant city. It also ends up reminding me of the cult classic album "Network Entities" by Incorporeal Visions Deluxe - this album contains one of the first vaporwave songs I've ever heard so I'll always have a soft spot for this kind of sound and vibe.

It's around this point in the album that some cracks start to appear, with the introduction of songs with vocals. While the first two songs on this project are instrumental, a few of the tracks here actually include sampled vocals. Sometimes this works and other times they can feel a bit intrusive - for example "This Must Be Love" which is probably my least favourite song here. Nearly half the song is filled by a skit in the original sample which doesn't really work for the album's atmosphere. But for the most part I can still enjoy these tracks, even if I think the instrumental tracks work better - "Remember my Heart" is probably the best of the vocal-based tracks here.

If I wanted to get really finicky (and I mean really, really finicky) I would mention this album's use of Japanese commercials - they're sprinkled throughout a few of this album's songs. I don't have much of a problem with this, normally they're just used to briefly introduce or end a song - but they contrast kind of badly with the English vocals on this album. Worldbuilding is quite important in vaporwave - that does sound really snobby but for the most part it just comes down to something like "the album should sound like the cover". So in that regard it's a bit jarring, because why would Japanese commercials be playing alongside music sang in English? It isn't particularly intrusive but like I said, it can be a little jarring if you think about it too hard.

The project closes off with "Dream Within A Dream" which I think is a great closing track. It's a very relaxing and tropical-feeling song, and I think I'm going to wrap it up here.

"Until We Meet Again" is a solid vaporwave effort - it isn't perfect, but it has some fantastic moments too. I can see a lot of people really getting into this one. I just think that some of the songs leave a little to be desired, and that's about it. It's a good album, give it a listen.

7.3/10

Fav Tracks: Cloud Surfing, Hotel Euphoria, Everything I Feel, Remember My Heart, Eternal Rain, Dream Within A Dream

Least Fav Track: This Must Be Love