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ELECTRONIC FREEZE, MELT CUT COPY Cutters Records * * * * Cut Copy will be forever synonymous with Melbourne, but the group’s sixth album draws inspiration from more distant cold climes. Founder and frontman Dan Whitford’s experiences of living through harsh winters in Denmark have served as something of a musical reset for the group. Freeze, Melt is an impressive departure from the sunny psychedelia of 2013’s Free Your Mind, and the upbeat dance rhythms of 2017’s Haiku From Zero. Whitford and bandmates Tim Hoey, Ben Browning and Mitchell Scott have pursued a more introspective and atmospheric direction, freeing themselves of expectation to chart a brave new path. “In the past when we were in the studio we were striving to move people on the dance floor,” Whitford explains, “but in this case it was all about trying to move people in more of an emotional way.” Dance-floor and festival-friendly pop favourites such as Take Me Over and Counting Down don’t fit the bill here. Freeze, Melt, is less Hearts on Fire, more Cold Water, the pensive, moody opener Whitford conceived during a brutal cold snap in Copenhagen. Here, he sings of “the midnight sun, where dreams are gone” amid a sparse backdrop, before an urgent beat kicks in amid swirling synths. It’s emotive, solitary electronica, apt for the times. Enlisting Swedish producer Christoffer Berg for mixing duties has reinforced the Scandinavian undercurrent. There’s an ambient, meditative feel on tunes such as Rain; production is unhurried, restrained in parts, but assured across the eight tracks. Big guitar moments are eschewed in favour of...