Los Angeles-based producer Shlohmo (Henry Laufer) re-emerges with his fourth studio album Repulsor, released via R&R. This marks his first full-length in five years, and wisely so: the hiatus has sharpened his vision.
Ten tracks (twelve in some editions) clock in at about 42 minutes and see Shlohmo melding his signature lo-fi textures, ghostly vocals, and club-floor bruised drums into something both more direct and more unsettling.
Sound & Scope
From the opening track, the album plunges into a deep resonance: kick drums drum like distant thunder, half-heard vocal samples drift like apparitions, and layers of analog hiss and digital grit accumulate until you feel stranded in the centre of a cathedral of broken signals.
Shlohmo keeps the darkness from becoming atmospheric fluff by threading through melodies that feel wounded but unforgettable—think of a shadow of early Burial, the grit of arca’s wildest moments, and the bodily pull of industrial-synth bruisers.
Tracks like “Chore Boy (feat. SALEM)” (one of the lead singles) exemplify this blend — dense, brooding, yet somehow hypnotic in its insistence. The contrast between club-ready kicks and ambient aftermath gives Repulsor a sense of motion, of collision, of escape and return.
Themes & Emotional Core
Shlohmo has long trafficked in the hazy space between sorrow and addiction, night and dawn, the real and the imagined. On Repulsor, those themes come into focus: the weight of memory, the ache of wanting connection, the alienation of modern life.
And yet, there’s a strange radiance — moments of release in the darkness, of weird beauty emerging from the decay. It’s not comfort music; it’s survival music.
Comparison to Previous Work
Where 2019’s The End sealed Shlohmo’s reputation as a boundary-walker between ambient gloom and beat-driven propulsion, Repulsor feels like a recalibration. The sound is leaner, the blows harder, the emotional register more immediate than the drift-and-hover feel of Dark Red (2015).
For longtime fans, there’s the familiar sonic hallmarks — tape artifacts, half-buried samples, buried vocal snippets — but here they serve something sharper. This is not just background mood lighting; this is light cast through broken glass.
Highlights & Weaknesses
Highlights
- An immersive production aesthetic: every texture is tactile.
- Emotional clarity: Shlohmo’s best work when you feel the beats in you, not just around you.
- Thoughtful pacing. At ~42 minutes, the album doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Weaknesses
- The dense atmosphere may alienate casual listeners seeking hooks or pop structure.
- A few tracks drift without distinct peaks; in a stronger album these might have been omitted or varied more.
Verdict
Repulsor is a triumph of tone and tension. Shlohmo has crafted an album that isn’t comfortable—but it’s compelling. It inhabits the night, invites you in, and leaves you changed. It may not be a blockbuster dancefloor album—but it is an essential Shlohmo album, reminding us that the deepest grooves can lie in shadows. 8.0 / 10
Listen / Buy
Find at Bandcamp / official stores.