In a sense, Prins Thomas’s latest album came out of creative exhaustion. After a period of steady remix work, the Norwegian producer ended 2021 feeling like he neglected his own productions. Enter Prins Thomas 8, the first of two albums from this urgent period which found Thomas revisiting half-finished works for inspiration. Despite the circumstances, 8 is remarkably cohesive while staying eclectic. Flowing freely from meditative electronica (‘Kjære Mamma’) to strutting disco (‘Salto Mortale’) and modern lounge (‘Cool Coronas’), Thomas and collaborators John Caroll Kirby and Bugge Wesseltoft make what could’ve been a rut-breaking exercise into a breezy, effortless affair.