TOKiMONSTA | Eternal Reverie
On Eternal Reverie, TOKiMONSTA (Jennifer Lee) trades the gritty, swing-driven beats of her earlier work for a more polished, house- and disco-influenced sound. The album features dreamy, atmospheric vibes that sometimes veer into overly smooth territory, lacking the raw edge she once brought to her productions.
Lee’s journey as a producer has been one of constant evolution. Rising from the late-aughts L.A. beat scene, she gained recognition for her inventive sampling and intricate drum programming, which led to her becoming the first woman signed to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label in 2011 with Creature Dreams. Her early work often combined experimental sounds, such as blending traditional Korean instruments with spacey synths. After a life-threatening brain disease temporarily took away her ability to hear music in 2015, she made a remarkable recovery and returned to the studio, only to face further delays when she had to care for a terminally ill friend, postponing the release of Eternal Reverie.
With this latest album, Lee embraces a smoother, more accessible strain of EDM, one that feels more in line with artists like ZHU or Elephante than her early influences like J Dilla. The songs here mostly feature four-on-the-floor house and disco beats, replacing the swung rhythms of her past. Tracks like Lucky U and Switch It offer slick, radio-friendly production, with Lucky U featuring a tame vocal performance by longtime collaborator Gavin Turek, and Switch It showing Anderson .Paak proteges GAWD attempting to infuse some life into the mix with sultry triplets. Yet, the overall tone of the album can feel formulaic at times, with its restrained pace and predictable drops that lack the excitement of her earlier, more experimental work.
Lee does experiment with global rhythms, but these elements feel less fresh than in her past releases. Corazón / Death by Disco, Pt. 2 takes a Brazilian disco sample and adds a house filter, but doesn’t push the boundaries as her earlier work did. In Simple Reminder, she once fused bossa nova with cosmic textures in an innovative way, but in Corazón, the Brazilian influence feels like little more than a garnish. Similarly, All In dips into Afropiano with light percussion and shakers that hint at Nigerian rhythms but don’t explore the genre’s full potential.
Despite the album’s tendency to blend into the background, there are still moments that remind listeners of Lee’s musical depth. Say Tell Me opens with a stuttering guitar sample and layered synths, recalling the swing and groove of her hip-hop beginnings. The track adds some mystique with a gamelan-like synth that elevates the atmosphere. More impressive is For You, a heartfelt dedication to her late friend, where Lee’s jazzy chords interplay with Kaelin Ellis’ cascading guitar lines. The song builds and drops with emotional nuance, showcasing the subtlety and depth that Lee can achieve when she leans into her roots.
In the end, Eternal Reverie may feel like a shift toward crowd-pleasing, easy-listening EDM, but tracks like For You demonstrate that Lee still has the potential to push boundaries and capture the innovative spirit of her early work. It’s a reminder that while her sound may have evolved, the core of her talent remains, waiting for the right moment to break free again.
