7/10

Over the last few years, the profile of Australian-born, California-based frontman RY X has been growing ever since a number of other contemporary artists began to praise his work throughout their own careers. With Maroon 5 inviting him on tour and Sam Smith covering his music during a live radio session, the frontman has remained a cult name on the fringes on the mainstream since his debut album 'Dawn' scraped into the top 40 albums charts back in 2016. Now looking to continue his impressive reputation, the producer-come-vocalist has made some bold steps when it comes to his sophomore full-length 'Unfurl'.

Sticking very much to his core sound of subtle and ethereal electronics bedding a layer of soaring yet soft vocals, 'Unfurl' sees the frontman experiment more with pace and flow this time around. Singles such as 'Untold' and 'The Water' aim to break up the usual mild-mannered flow of his traditional style, and offer the odd respite of uplifting works that help carry this new collection along. Other than that, the record remains very much a clone of his previous work, yet despite his reluctance to move on creatively, he has still delivered a beautifully meticulous album in the process.

Fans of his older work will certainly be pleased to have him back in the fold, but with less movement from his debut LP, we feel like we have heard all of this before. While it is still an extremely impressive collection, RY X feels very much at home in this sound and aims to push it as far as it will go.