Finally got around to listening to the entire album, and there's two sides to it.
Firstly, I think Bicep does this thing waaaaaaay better. I listened to this album, and then I listened to Bicep - Atlas. Even though this album is good, they are worlds apart IMO. I don't think I can put it into words, really, but I'll try. Even when you listen to Atlas, the emotions there are almost fleeting and elusive, you feel them but not fully, which makes them stronger because it forces you to search for them. Whereas with Trance Wax's work, it's all laid out in front of you. I kinda feel there's almost no subtlety.
But then again, the entire album was pleasant to listen to and not bad in any way (except for the aforementioned). Beachbreak is pretty good, and Calling For You would've been one of my 2020 TOTY, had I actually bothered to take a listen when it came out. What a great track!
I also don't mind the track length at all. Bicep's are the same. They are all filled with content, with no empty beats. No need to force more if it doesn't make sense. But then again, if the extended versions are better, I wouldn't mind.
I quite agree with this assessment overall:
I think this is a solid album - it is a fusion of several styles yet it flows quite naturally. It is fundamentally breaks but very melodic and condensed in its arrangement.
And i think it hits the sweet spot between being accessible for the mainstream crowd, whilst retaining enough musical substance for the more serious underground fans to relish. Ultimately what has to be compromised is the track length. There are some really promising ideas in there, and i could only imagine that they would be even better had they been fleshed out a bit more.
Looking forward to some of these tracks being released in an extended format!