If you’ve checked out any of the Instrumentals mixtapes that collect his production work or the Rainforest EP, not much on 32 Levels will surprise you. When listening to 32 Levels, the beats themselves sound like nothing you’ve heard before. Unless you’ve listened to Clams Casino before, that is. The distinct blend of heavily layered synth lines, ambient noise, distorted/pitch-adjusted vocal samples and hard drums bears the influence of syrupy Houston trap beats and has precursors in electronic music ranging from Brian Eno to Portishead, but this in no way makes his work predictable. Volpe’s style of production and arrangement immediately arrested listeners’ ears when it first popped up on songs by Lil B, Main Attraktionz and A$AP Rocky in 20. On 32 Levels, it’s clear that he made the record he wanted to with little interference from Columbia-there are no cheap crossover moves to be found here.

Then again, Mike Volpe hasn’t often taken the expected road in his time operating under the Clams Casino moniker. It’s not often that artists who have an established place in the hip-hop universe release their debut album six years into their careers.

Clams casino 32 levels review