Maxwell Byrne has a Pop artist’s appreciation for ridiculous scale and shiny surfaces. The Brisbane musician frequently complements his tracks with cartoonishly outsized set pieces like a human hamster cage, wonky papier-mâché lightning bolts, or Jurassic Park-style CGI bugs. For megacity1000, his second full-length dance record as 1tbsp, Byrne created a miniature metropolis of the future—a bizarro utopia, equal parts SimCity and Abu Dhabi—and added an spoken-word introduction rhapsodizing about the promise of urban living. Even if the record’s concept ultimately feels about as durable as the cardboard skyscrapers that Byrne and his partner spent a month toiling over, megacity1000 is his most reliably fun and intricately constructed collection of club music to date.
As Golden Vessel, Byrne is an established figure in Australia’s indie-pop scene, and a prolific and respected collaborator with a host of artists including Mallrat and BAYNK (with whom he was nominated for a Grammy last year). But Byrne has also become an increasingly in-demand DJ, and he’s released a clutch of well-received bangers as 1tbsp. That’s a promising development, because he’s a more compelling producer than he is a performer; his ear for detail conveys far more personality than the bland anonymity of his winsome Triple J vocal delivery.
Byrne has an easy and infectious command of rhythm, stacking his drums so that they thump, rattle, and gallop all at once, and balancing his tracks’ pent-up momentum with blindingly bright synths. This interplay between surface shimmer and rhythmic muscle makes even the most relentless songs feel oddly lightweight and lithe. “Neurasync” and “MC1K” give off a metallic glint reminiscent of K-LONE at his most punchy and dynamic, while the bouncy guitar groove supporting the affectless vocals on “Somebody Pay Nina” sounds as if someone took Oli XL on a tropical vacation.
Even though Byrne’s fictional city doesn’t belong to any specific geographic region, it’s hard to imagine it isn’t located within earshot of a TraTraTrax party. The influence of Latin club is pronounced across the record, particularly in its many sped-up reggaeton samples, which he uses to heighten the intensity. Given the relatively short run time, the recurrence of those motifs can occasionally feel like a crutch, a shorthand for another level of party-starting that 1tbsp doesn’t totally earn.
The best Spanish-language track by far is “Limosina,” which features a shit-talking performance by Cherry Chola. Byrne lays down spritely synth plucks and an impatient, stuttering beat; the Venezuelan Australian singer compares her glamorous lifestyle with your shitty Corolla before driving off to the sound of garish flashing synths. The two forceful personalities cut a carefree path through Byrne’s imagined city, conveying a particularly inspired sense of place.
