Crystal Pleasures by Faex Optim

Crystal Pleasures is the brand new album from renowned Edinburgh producer Faex Optim.

For those new to the name, prepare to be bowled over.

For those familiar with the sound of Faex Optim (pronounced Fah-ex Optim, real name Wesley MacDonald), be prepared for a compositional overhaul, well worth the near 4 year wait from 2020's "Let's Pretend".

In Wes' own words.... "It's a slight change of style."

Type in 'faex optim' on youtube, and you'll get where he is coming from. In almost every Faex Optim youtube video you can find, comments comparing him to the work of the two most famous Scottish musical brothers in electronica are commonplace. Some even allude to the fact that Faex Optim could be Boards of Canada under a new name, explaining the lack of new BoC material.

"It felt like had done as much as I could do in that direction, and I felt like I needed to do something to mix it up.” explains Wes in a recent interview with Bloop Radio London. ‘The new album's got less of the archaic, wobbly synth sounds, and maybe it’s bit more driven.. slightly cleaner mixes.”

And he's not kidding. Crystal Pleasures is a revolution from the classic FO sound. Wes' classic lo-fi production techniques (crispy drums and cloudy synth lines) are still present, but compositionally, Wes is treading through fresh powder.

Album opener 'Wester Hailes' is almost guaranteed to deliver goosebumps, thanks in no small part to fellow WFR artist Cholly delivering spellbinding, near-operatic vocals. Tracks like the pumping "Came In Screaming' and 'Wash & Play' are more akin to Bicep than Boards, reinforcing the sonic makeover. The uptempo electronica of "Great Balloons" and album closer "Candescence' deliver a level of euphoria you would expect from the likes of peak Chemical Brothers and Orbital. It's a revelation. There are softer, more reflective moments on Crystal Pleasures, but overall, the album hits so differently from Wes' earlier work, and we believe the album is all the better for it.

"It feels like something kind of new and fresh." Says Wes. "It almost feels like it’s a first album, and you’re hopeful that people will like it, but there’s always that thing in your mind that people might go 'What is this? What is he doing?' So there’s nervousness, but that’s also quite exciting."

Here's to Crystal Pleasures; an album designed not to fit in, but to stand out.

Post-electronic music. Currently residing in the grey drizzle of Scotland.

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