DUMB, Flume's latest project with Australian vocalist Emma Louise, has arrived not long after their recent collaboration with JPEGMAFIA We Live In A Society. That EP was short and had untapped potential, refusing to explore the possibilities of this artistic opportunity to its fullest. While DUMB is a larger project, it has sadly followed in a similar path as a promising concept that does not deliver. The key difference here is that there is rapid decline in creative experimentation, as the album burns through its best ideas early on and leaves the listener with Flume on auto-pilot for the rest. Flume in turn seems to bury Emma's vocals in harsh distortion and tired effects, creating a dissonance that is more distracting than it is engaging.

Emma Louise was previously featured on Flume’s Palaces, where her performance on “Hollow” stood out. She elevated an emotionally rich track that balanced distortion and sentimentality in a beautiful manner. That feature hinted at a deeper creative chemistry, and the announcement of a full-length collaboration raised expectations. The singles released ahead of the album, especially “Shine, Glow, Glisten,” reinforced that optimism. That track showcases vocal experimentation, bold structure, and satisfying payoffs. Even if it eventually settles into a familiar groove, it is one that undeniably works.

But herein lies the problem, every single exists within the first half of this album, and they represent the bulk of what DUMB has to offer. Once you move past the opening stretch, the album’s energy and inventiveness begin to unravel. Tracks like “Monsoon” and “All Of The Worlds” still carry some weight, but the deeper you go, the more the collaborative spark fades. The production becomes brash and repetitive, and Emma Louise’s vocal talents that were so clearly present in the early tracks are increasingly buried under sonic clutter.

The production style thus becomes a more abrasive and jumbled evolution of the works found on Palaces. Flume’s glitch effects and vocal layering, once thrilling, now feel tired. There are moments of interesting distortion, but they are inconsistent: sometimes adding texture, other times drowning out the vocals entirely. Emma Louise’s performances range from hushed mantras to expressive, wide passages, and when her voice is allowed to breathe, it shines. Her hit track “Jungle” is a perfect example of how space and restraint can elevate her delivery. Unfortunately, DUMB rarely offers that space. The few moments where her voice is blended with instrumental build ups to create propulsive energy are effective, but they are few and far between.

In the context of Flume’s discography, DUMB reads as a quirky side project that burned through its creative energy in the front half. It lacks the emotional depth of Palaces and the daring innovation of Skin. Even the JPEGMAFIA EP, brief as it was, might have deserved the full album treatment more than this. While We Live in a Society had untapped chemistry that could have used a full album to explore it, the creative spark in DUMB flickers early and then fades.

The album is best experienced through headphones, where the moments of production that do work can achieve mind scrambling effects. But as the album drifts into its second half, the sound design becomes increasingly abrasive, with dense layouts that overwhelm rather than immerse. It is a shame, because the ingredients for something special were clearly present. But what is missing is a refinement, a sense of direction, a questioning of what each track means in the grand scheme of the album.

DUMB is no disaster, but it is a disappointment. The concept is strong, and the first few tracks deliver on that initial promise. But the album quickly exhausts its creative momentum, falling back on repetitive production and uninspired arrangements that do little to elevate Emma Louise’s vocals. It is not just that the album is front-loaded but that the back half feels like an afterthought. And truthfully, that makes the missed potential sting even more.

5.5/10