Vulnerabilities

Thomas Melchior almost bested his most recent album, Vulnerabilities, with the endless slip and glide of its gracious lead single, “Closer” – the California Dreaming mix exclusive to the twelve-inch is ten minutes of heavenly elevation. It was the deep house gem of 2021. Vulnerabilities has broader shoulders; across its 80 minutes, it takes in tricksy UK garage (“2 Step King”), lighter-than-air, frothy synth cadences (“Catharsis”), astral house (“Ascending to Our Solitude”), the glitched-out electronics of “The Checker”. There’s something deceptive in Melchior’s productions – it feels effortless, but the attention to detail, the particular hiss and sting of hi-hats, the open spaces left or implied by arrangement, attest to serious consideration. That it all communicates so easily is testament to the gentle poetry of his music.