Skin (Flume album)

Critical reception

Skin received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 11 reviews. Heather Phares of AllMusic said, "While it could have benefitted from some editing, Skin still shows a lot of growth--it's more mature, and more memorable, than Flume." Kahron Spearman of The Austin Chronicle said, "Skin goes Technicolor and bigger, effectively standing on the shoulders of Disclosure and giant stars including Skrillex, Diplo, and album collaborator/reinventor Beck." Derek Staples of Consequence of Sound said, "Gearing up to be the next EDM crossover talent, Flume's sophomore effort, Skin, showcases a producer at ease with all of the sounds moving tickets at America's major festival events: hip-hop, indie pop, and EDM." The Independent's Justin Carissimo gave the album a very positive review, stating that the album was "the audio equivalent of ecstasy." David Smith of the London Evening Standard gave a similarly positive review, stating that "this is music that can do much more than get feet moving." Luke Fowler of Pretty Much Amazing said, "Skin is the sound of Flume reaching for great heights and almost grasping what he seeks there."

Stacey Anderson of Pitchfork said, "["Wall Fuck" is] short and snappy, gone too fast in an album that could've been streamlined to let moments like it shine. But maybe it's the sound of floodgates opening." Keith Harris of Rolling Stone said, "Restless versatility is all over the LP, generating the emotional crests and sensory overload a festival crowd demands, but with a nuance that'll make it work even if you aren't shirtless in the desert." Jonathan Wroble of Slant Magazine said, "If the burden on electronic producers is to establish personality beyond a dense network of light displays and computer processing, this album gets Flume halfway there: It shows him as unquestionably human (overeager, alternately flashy and timid, sometimes more in awe than in control), but still a bit faceless." The Sydney Morning Herald's Craig Mathieson gave the album a positive review, stating that "the record is intoxicating and eclectic." Ben Thompson of The Observer said, "Distinguished guests--UK nearly siren AlunaGeorge, rapper Vince Staples--are ushered respectfully through a series of viable electronic hinterlands, where a couple of them, notably perennial cameo supplier Little Dragon and Wu Tang vet Raekwon, manage to put down roots in actual songs."