Audiopile Review: Returning to Vegyn’s Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds five years later, it’s easy to see why he’s become such a staple here in the shop. Between his standout 2024 effort The Road to Hell is Paved With Good Intentions and his much adored work under the Headache moniker, Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds not only signals how Vegyn arrived at this point in his career but stands as a release of equal excellence. Vegyn embarks on an internet-poisoned odyssey through a fractured landscape of hip-hop-influenced production. Frenetic beats and unpredictable samples collide with layers of warm synths, cinematic strings, and cloud rap-like icy textures—only to fracture and pivot into unexpected directions. Glitchy and varied yet meticulously constructed, it’s a futuristic collage where IDM sensibilities merge with playful experimentation, remaining remarkably accessible despite the complex production. The JPEGMAFIA feature on the standout track “Nauseous / Devilish” is a seamless addition—a meeting of two of the most restless, exciting artists currently doing it. At just over 40 minutes, Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds wastes no time, playing like a “look what I can do” pitch from a production polymath who refuses to stay still—yet somehow always sticks the landing.

***

Hot double LP of beats and scattered rhymes (JPEGMAFIA, Retro X & Jeshi feature) from this highly inventive producer. Having gained notoriety for his work with Frank Ocean and Travis Scott among others, Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds is overjoyed, heady and nervous at once. It offers a proper introduction to the massively imaginative sound of Vegyn.

Vegyn, AKA Joe Thornalley is by no means the new kid on the block. You probably know him as the producer of Frank Ocean’s legendary albums “Endless” and “Blonde”. However, this isn’t about that. Record of the week this week is Vegyn’s debut album “Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds”, an incredible piece showing his stand-alone work is set to be as iconic as his collaborations. The album is hard to define to one genre, it has chasms of hip hop, jazz and electronic sounds with an esoteric dream-like edge. What stands out about this is the contrast within the tracks, making the personality of this album multiply the further you listen.