han.irl<3 is an enigma even within the niche of glitchpop and other post-hyperpop genres, and I am known to nerd out about her to just about anyone who will listen to me ramble. Compounding my pre-existing “problem”, her latest release 404.wav is a punchy addition onto an already extremely compelling album rollout that has kept me more engaged than possibly any other album ever has.

For the uninitiated, 404.wav is the 10th track from the slow rolling release of han’s upcoming album. And no that is not a typo or extra 0. I have been following the rollout of this album for the past 3 years and with every release I am more in awe than the last. 404.wav is more traditionally dance-y than it’s predecessors, with a wonderfully bouncy synth lead layered with han’s signature whispy and glitchy vocals. I use the term traditionally loose though, as that’s primarily within it’s formatting and energy. This is a track filled to the brim with ever changing vocal effects and textures, a 4 on the floor kick that cuts straight though the mix, and ever present online metaphors built for the digital age of dating. It’s a mystic pairing of classic dance styling and the chopped up sound palette that’s grown exponentially within the post-hyperpop landscape. Theres no shock this song and the rest of the album nail their instrumentals the way they do either, as han has consistently had production support from top tier producers, with 404.wav crediting Intentions, and other tracks having support from the likes of Atlas in Motion, Login, stecker and Daniel Allan (all names with huge weight if you’re in the know).

In a project generally full of immense production complexity I was initially surprised by how straightforward the track was (once again straightforward being a very loose term when being held against other tracks such as i only want what i can’t have!!!), but I think it’s actually a testament to the level at which this project is operating on. It continues to bring variety while maintaining it’s cohesion, as despite the stark changes in feel from cybercrush222, to 404.wav, to whenuwantme this project is one of the most cohesive I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. I’ve been known to in my own head refer to han as the queen of glitchpop, as I genuinely think she is a pioneer within the space making some of the craziest, highest quality tracks right now and the fact that she is currently sitting just under 60,000 monthly listeners is absolutely criminal. To put it bluntly, I adore this track and I have never been more excited for an album to drop in it’s entirety.