For some reason, I am very obsessed with the idea of interstate highways. Maybe it's the openness, the road trip possibilities, or just the thrill of going faster than I should. Whatever it may be, I still get excited to drive on the interstate, especially since that means making a playlist of "driving music" to keep me entertained as I stare out at the walls of trees and guardrails that surround the highway. My main rule for driving music is that it has to fit the time of day when I'll be driving: for example, an album as slick as Jam City's "Classical Curves" is strictly a nighttime album, and Baths' "Cerulean" is best for afternoons. There is one artist, however, who is able to break this rule with ease: the ever-mysterious vaporwave producer (not to mention owner of the prominent Fortune 500 label) Luxury Elite.
Luxury Elite truly hits her apex with "Fantasy," a 30-minute album that's more of a musical chocolate box than a collection of songs. "Fantasy" is a diverse sampler of uncovered gems, each track just as sweet as the last. Filled to the brim with catchy hooks and driving beats, the album's main strength is in staying away from the monotony and repetition that plagues most vaporwave tracks, done so by keeping most of the tracks under two minutes. This choice works to both the listener and the artist's advantage: by keeping the tracks short and sweet, the catchiness of the songs is delivered in a way that teases and entices another listen, without droning on and on until you want to throw your computer against the wall. It is very possible that Luxury Elite has found the key to vaporwave perfection. As more and more people uncover the strange world of vaporwave (or its dissenting "broporwave" movement), "Fantasy" is sure to be on the list of required listening: an instant vaporclassic that acts as an onramp to the superfast superhighway that is vaporwave.
