Chet Faker Built On Glass

Nick Murphy had already amassed mounting buzz for his work as Chet Faker—thanks to his 2012 cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” and his 2013 Flume collab “Drop the Game”—but his debut album secured the Melbourne singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist much more attention at home and overseas alike. Lead single “Talk is Cheap” topped the publicly voted Triple J Hottest 100, remaining one of his most popular tracks. As if echoing his own refrain (“I want to make you move with confidence”), the song grows more self-assured as it progresses, graduating from Murphy’s hangdog murmur to a satisfying climax of his layered vocal harmonies. Built on Glass continues that intimate feeling from there, with Murphy’s production hovering close to his sleepy croon. He’s more concerned with overall vibes than just back-to-back bangers: Note the almost ambient presence of opener “Release Your Problems” and the disembodied feel of the interlude-like “No Advice (Airport Version)”. Yet Murphy is still a savvy architect of homespun beats and hooks, as heard on the Kilo Kish duet “Melt” and the emotive ballad “Gold”. Recording as both Chet Faker and Nick Murphy in the years since, he has proven again and again that this record’s meticulous artistry was no fluke.