A.M. Breakups is a producer from Brooklyn who has worked as part of groups like Cult Favorite and We Are Not For Them, as well as working as a solo artist. Last May, A.M. Breakups released a collection of instrumental tracks called Architecture 1 | Babel. Not only was the collection enjoyable, it also held the promise of more collections to come. Well, we didn’t have to wait much longer, since it’s less than a year later and we’re already up to volume 3, Architecture 3 I Hubris.

Sometimes, especially when you’re dealing with a less experienced producer, a collection like this can feel a little bit like a data dump. It’s like the producer is saying, “I’m tired of these files taking up space on my hard drive. You take them!” And then you just have a bunch of unfinished beats to sort through. Other times, though, when you’re dealing with a producer on the level of A.M. Breakups, you get a collection of beats like Hubris, and you realize that he’s just sitting on so much good material, it didn’t make sense to sit on a lot of it for much longer. Overall, Breakups tends to work in a dark and dense style that is rooted in the New York underground, but he manages to find room for lightness and minimalism along the way as you work your way through these ten tracks. The tone is more melancholy and reflective than it is just oppressively “dark,” and Breakups does a great job of developing each of these tracks so that you’re not just getting a beat tape, you’re getting fully formed songs that take you through an emotional ride. He also does an exceptional job of sequencing the collection, so that each track feels like it’s in conversation with the next, and you really feel like you’ve been taken on a guided journey by the time you’re done listening it. It’s a collection best listened to on headphones, perhaps on an overcast day, so that you can really get inside your own head while letting A.M. Breakups set the mood for you.

A.M. Breakups has quietly put together a really nice resume over the course of this past decade, and the way he’s able to drop these incredibly strong Architecture collections should not be overlooked. These aren’t just releases to fill the void or get stuff off his desk. These are quality collections of thoughtful instrumental hip hop.