This is a record of great technical skill and imagination, and one that's also nonetheless soulful and sincere.

The music on µ20 is equally a view into that mind and its peculiar tastes. Though he rarely gets the level of recognition and respect as his good friend and one-time collaborator Aphex Twin, Paradinas is a visionary, an incredibly talented producer and a savvy curator.

They've become powerful songwriters since they focused on the craft in 2010, and Foam Island shows it off more than anything else.

Days Gone By focuses on the band's smoky, bedroom-ready style. It's only half the story, but it's still a pretty good one.

Even if Have You In My Wilderness is Holter's most accessible record to date, it's riddled with enough puzzles, lyrical twists and delicate refinement to remain intriguing listen after listen.

Caracal has the effect of a magician performing a trick twice in a row, rendering once clandestine, miraculous movements suddenly obvious, over-rehearsed and unnatural.

The Curved Line is a pretty harmless, quirky listen, and enjoyable enough if you've got a bit of a sweet tooth.

It's certainly still bleak as ever, but there's more hope than before.

It's something more functional, familiar and safe.

Some of the best moments on Discreet Desires occur when she's flexing these unexpected songwriting chops.

Where a lot of modern Balearic music can sound cheesy and banal, Idjut Boys have a keen sense of melody and a fondness for unexpected left turns, which keeps their tracks tight and surprising.

There is a feeling of accomplishment throughout Invite The Light.

An entire album of the stuff would likely be twee overkill, but Gonno's endearing quirks and lighthearted sensibilities are charming in small doses.

This series has always been Kompakt’s annual attempt to try to shape mainstream house and techno in its own idiosyncratic vision. Once again, it has done so in style.

His architectures still have an unreal sheen, but they're convincing enough to get lost in.

Staring into a murky void, Thundercat has actually made his clearest music yet.

Whatever James puts his name to could and should never be expected to make conventional sense, so Orphaned Deejay Selek only falters when denying his own slippery logic.

Born In The Echoes follows the duo's formula of saving the more psychedelic tracks for the end.

There's the occasional hint of another, more vivid album.... Elsewhere they often seem all too separate, like combatants squaring off in a strange, airless room.

Each production here feels less like a 10-minute single than a condensed DJ set, and The Orb navigate these spaces with a fresh wind in their sails.

It's a total weirdo crossover success, and perhaps Bahdeni Nami's standout if club fodder is what you're after.

Blondes' new arrangement seems to working fine so far, and suggests that subsequent live shows will be pretty special, too.

Though his abilities with oddball party jams are unquestionable, Davis proves he can be equally compelling when he tones it down a notch.

Pattern Of Excel succeeds during those little moments that capture Bannon's way with mood and melody.

Sometimes Walker can have his cake and eat it, too, and on the best moments of Knockin' Boots, he does.

What does it feel like to be alive in a digital age, overloaded and confused, but excited, too? What perspectives are possible now? Piteous Gate is a captivating attempt at putting those feelings into sound.

In its best moments, Morning/Evening is perfectly paced. Less convincing is the Evening side's coda.... Even with these faults, though, Hebden has brought a refreshing addition to his discography.

LP might be Ren Schofield's shortest album as Container, but it's also the one that best captures the full elemental force of his music.