On Too Real, California producer Giraffage and a cast of guest vocalists create a distinctive album of dance-oriented internet music that’s hard to pin down as any one genre. The album starts with an old school vapor-trap sound, but Giraffage quickly moves into other styles. Japanese Breakfast contributes ethereal vocals to “Maybes,” which combines vaporwave’s distinctive retro lounge music feel with an energetic EDM beat, bass drop and all. Album standout “Slowly” is a tight synthwave track, with chopped-up R&B vocals and heavy funk beats. As a producer, Giraffage has a way of approaching the “post-internet” aesthetic without coming off as overly kitschy or ironic. Vocals are looped and pitched, and 80s synth sounds are abundant, but the album avoids falling into the style-over-substance trap by keeping listeners on their toes with more experimental tracks, such as “Earth,” which goes from light future funk to a brutal Perturbator-style synthwave drop in a matter of minutes.
-Andrew Bennett