For the past few decades, Daniel Lopatin has continued to extend his approach when carrying forgotten sound archives and nestling them into his own odd melodic tangents that keep them indelible. At first, ‘Tranquilizer’ might seem familiar in how he ruffles various samples ala his early 2010s work, yet it showcases a progression of his melodic techniques rather than a push back, resulting in his best work to date.

Oneohtrix Point Never, one of Daniel Lopatin’s major musical aliases, has always been curious about dismantling packs of sound archives and reconfiguring them into his own body of work. Ever since the 2000s, he has always put his ear to the ground. Always pulling in those forgotten, obscure soundpacks and finding a way to hook them into his albums that swerve in different directions. His entire run of albums starting in the 2010s is proof of this case. Going through the plunderphonics and progressive electronic-driven ‘Returnal’ and ‘Replica’, the glitchy and synth-focused ‘R Plus Seven’ and ‘Garden of Delete’, up to the wonky, vocally informed ‘Age Of’ and ‘Magic Oneohtrix Point Never’. There is a variance and progression that these projects possess, all of which only enhance Oneohtrix Point Never’s approach in picking apart forgotten nostalgia and bringing them altogether in the present.

After the reflective, “present self working with past self” concept of ‘Again’ in 2022, the overall purview in ‘Tranquilizer’ seems different but also familiar at the same time. Pulling in a set of commercial samples that were once removed from the Internet Archives, until Daniel Lopatin manages to retrieve them after they returned from the site for some unknown, but miraculous reason. While not as heavily concept-driven or mind-boggling as previous records, where he has already experimented with vapor-adjacent textures before – and also one of the reasons why the vaporwave genre existed in the first place – yet even then, across the album, there is a defying resonance that waits to be found.

Throughout the record, there are these subtle motions in how Oneohtrix Point Never’s compositions and production play out. Tracks like ‘Vestigel’ and ‘Fear of Symmetry’ present this within a gentle viewpoint. The former soothes like waves washing over you, just before the textures of noise, chorale, and bass melodies start to prick against that relaxing mood; the latter uses its hypnotic psychedelia as a way to lull you in, with the piano notes constantly repeating again. The use of chilling noise to transition to a hazy melody might pull you deeper into that comforting bliss. Still, it pulls back to that piano motif and pushes further into these shimmering melodic tones.

That frequent flick against that peaceful vibe, one where the melodies constantly modulate or fracture, is how these tracks resonate for the most part. Extremely compelling in how ‘Lifeworld’ and ‘Storm Show’ overwhelm with these powerful bursts of contrasting textures that sweep and spin around one another, and ‘D.I.S’, ‘Petro’, and ’Measuring Ruins’, whose lilting ambience is frequently shaken apart by pillars of glitch and noise. A constant ebb and flow of comfort and interruption.
But the most stirring tunes of all these come twofold. First are the tuneful surprises of ‘Bumpy’ and ‘Rold Glide’, with the former constantly wobbling as layers of synths, keys, and bass float around its harmonious environment, and the latter that might play off as this brooding vaporwave tune, just before the blistering techno comes punching in. A sharp juxtaposition that breaks away from the vibe, but they don’t distract, only adding more to the overall soundscape.

Second are the gradual melodies that unfold despite all the shambling shifts. ‘Cherry Blue’ continuously builds up swell even as the keys kept repeating in odd ways, a progression that leads to the violins and synths succeeding in reaching their crescendo to the heights. ‘Waterfalls’ cascades as it progresses from one section to another, transporting to pulsating and choppy synths that come through, whilst still keeping the evocative momentum intact.

For as much as ‘Tranquilizer’ seems like a record from Oneohtrix Point Never that felt too familiar at first, there is this balancing act of implementing his past sonic blueprints in sampling these unfamiliar sounds and injecting the improvement that he gained as a producer and composer, allowing the melodies and structure to be captivating and carefully put together. Just like ‘Again’, the album feels like a reconfiguration of Daniel Lopatin’s sonic and melodic footing, but now vibrant and sonorous as ever. Despite its title, ‘Tranquilizer’ is deceptively mesmerizing, potently putting calm emotions into a frenzied state, and leaving you coming back for more.

Order Tranquilizer by Oneothrix Point Never HERE