Pink is a triumph and the new high-water mark for one of this generation's finest producers.

For all of its turbulence and dislocations, R Plus Seven is an astounding thing to behold, a perfectly imperfect and downright breathtaking masterpiece.

the Norwegian superproducer has been intermittently working with Christabelle since 2001 and all the years of back-and-forth were clearly worth it, as Real Life is simply stellar.

The third full-length from Hendrick Weber maintains the high quality of previous efforts while pushing certain elements of his shoegaze-y, minimal-inspired techno sound further.

In short, it is rare to find a producer who can craft many types of tracks so consistently well, but with You Stand Uncertain, FaltyDL has cemented himself as such.

It's a fantastical story of aliens, spirits, and children told by one breathtakingly gifted artist, and it's utterly remarkable.

Half of Where You Live is a considerably more rewarding album, one that creates lush, sophisticated, and disarmingly inviting music using the simple building blocks of sample-based beats and deeply personal musical storytelling.

Space Is Only Noise might be one of the most ear-opening techno records in recent memory.

There's no doubt that Visions is an excellent album.

An ambitious and eclectic album that packs tons of ideas into its runtime and manages to pull them all off with a great deal of style.

As Seplacure takes form, a consistent emotional ground that exists somewhere between stoney reminisce and melancholic introspection is reached.

Whether you're an old fan of Drexciya or you've just arrived late to the party, Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller I is about as close to an essential compilation as you're going to get.

More so than any of his other releases, Burial seems to have something to say throughout Rival Dealer, and that message helps tie together the record's diverse 28 minutes and give its three tracks the impact of a full-length album.

What they discovered lies beyond DJ mixes and radio rotations; it's their magnum opus.

Glass Swords feels and sounds like a cohesive statement, and a strong one at that.

Thanks to his savvy techniques and careful placement, his penchant for the far-out fringes of dance music doesn't seem weird at all, but delightfully intriguing.

It's an undefinable musical culmination of our collective conscious-reminding us that the more we've changed, the more we've stayed the same.

While the songs are still complex and full of countless moving parts, each melody and note plays a specific role, leaving There Is Love with a real clarity of vision.

A brand-new EP on Smalltown Supersound that picks up where his last left off.

Looping State of Mind might just be the finest document of his craft yet.

Jones' voice is an instrument shaped by age, not youth, and Hard Way proves she's just hitting her stride.

Everything from the album’s sharp, shimmering opulence (its cover could be a still from Annihilation) to its thematic interactions between machine and being align it with Garland’s apocalyptic work. Objekt--whether artist, producer or mad professor--is on top of his game, and his latest creation is as beautiful as it is powerful.

Adventurous but not selfish, intelligent but not difficult, a victory lap of sorts but hardly congratulatory, Terje's first album is astoundingly balanced and astonishingly broad, a wider serving of the man's artistic vision that ultimately proves just as satisfying as his single servings have in the past.

Regardless of whether they're successful or not isn't quite the point; what makes Shaking the Habitual so important is that The Knife used an important moment in their own history to truly subvert the hierarchy that both the band and the album exist in. Thankfully, they also wrote some near-perfect music in the process.

With Dedication, Zomby's first release for the legendary indie label 4AD, he's turned increasingly inward-and it's an entirely welcome trajectory.

It's a little bit of everything, which is perhaps why ƒIN is such a rich, fulfilling listen.

A record notable not only for its considerable length (16 tracks) but its sense of cohesion and staggering brilliance.

Despite (or maybe because of) the absence of Braxton, Battles has soldiered on into new musical territory, and discovered a place that is simultaneously confrontational and inviting, esoteric and playful, technical and infectious-and very, very good.

Whether it's the muffled, unsettling synths that peer out from underneath the groove, the mannered and highly potent collision of seemingly incongruous drum patterns, or simply the masterful arrangement, it all adds up to make a record that's difficult to second-guess and lots of fun to unpack.

Much like Four Tet's recent switch in focus towards club-friendly sonics, Caribou's Swim leaps into fresh, uncharted territory for the producer, but nonetheless retains the artist's unmistakably inviting and lovable style.

That ability to present such harnessed disarray through fresh and exciting music makes Replica a compelling listen from start to finish and a brilliant new direction for Oneohtrix Point Never's sound.

With All Melody, Nils Frahm has retained his unique approach and emotional sensitivity. He’s also expanded his sound, and shown more of his soul than ever before. It’s a record to be treasured.

Hauschildt's new opus is certainly just as captivating and varied as some of his band's [Emeralds] best work.

The decision to reject seamless beatmatching has only enhanced the mix, and lets us look into the Actress's process in a different context.

Magazine 13's emotional register may be rife with contradictions, but sinking into the album is never anything less than a joy.

Though it’s easy to compare his music to the ambient and electronica progenitors, Elasticity is very much the product of now--from the depth of production to the modern palette deployed.

Even more than a Lynchian album, Flamagra is nothing if not a FlyLo album. As usual he lends himself to superlatives and clichés, the sign of a singular artist (there’s another) about whom there just aren’t that many descriptors.

What's likely to stick out first and foremost on the 10 tracks that comprise Black Up are the beats.

Minor complaints aside, Hardcourage is an excellent effort, and, if the crossover attempts prove successful, it just might be the album that gets a wider audience talking about FaltyDL.

Not only does this stand out as one of Paradinas' best albums to date, but also as one of IDM's.

With this album, Slugabed firmly asserts himself as a first-rate producer, having turned in a debut LP that is short on subtleties, packed with triumphs, and hopefully telling of a career set to only continue impressing.

The different styles explored throughout Carrier produce varying sonic results, but never fail to assure the listener that they are listening to one of the most emotionally rich electronic records of this year.

On reflection, Glass exemplifies what a beautifully mysterious form ambient improvisation can be.

It would be wrong to describe Moodymann's DJ-Kicks set as a feel-good mix--it's much more than that, brimming with the highs and lows that real life can offer--but it is a joy to listen to, and that in itself is plenty.

From the patient and methodical moments to the flashes of light and energetic dance music, the producers always seem to be in control, and following the path they take makes for a truly rewarding listen.

The producer has undoubtedly severed himself from his past work, and in turn, put himself in a class that few hold claim to.

The LP's white-hot bursts of energy are all the more thrilling for their scarcity, and as such, these moments linger in the memory as a sort of post-euphoric haze.

After eight-plus years of releasing music, Junior Boys demonstrate handily with It's All True that they remain fresh, luminous, and highly relevant.

Instead of straight hip-hop, The Colossus is an omnibus record, swallowing brass-wielding collaborators, live instruments, hand-aged beats, and its creator's voice—all in service of a mission to unify RJ's pet genres via horn-blasted statements of intent fit for rollicking arenas ("Let There Be Horns"), menacing synthesizer pit traps ("A Spaceship For Now"), and intricate instrumentals.

When the strings rise into the mix as the song comes to a perfectly timed close, it's readily apparent that oOoOO's patience and time spent growing as a producer and a songwriter has paid off tremendously.

For those who seek out dancefloors in order to witness the unravelling of an electronic journey, this is one of only a handful albums this year to have delivered exactly that. Fewer still have done so with such distinctness.

Dark Crawler is the sound of Terror Danjah hitting artistic maturity.

Overall, Satin Panthers is an excellent new entry in the Hudson Mohawke discography, a case in which an artist stayed the stylistic course and improved on an already-successful formula.

That Atrocity Exhibition sounds like neither backpack rap, hipster drivel nor dull trap, but something fresh that stands on its own is itself to be applauded. But that it’s so damn good too puts it among the best hip-hop albums in years.

µ20 is a summary, a quick history lesson, and a celebration building upon itself. It might bypass some of Planet Mu’s finest moments—instead, the compilation aims to highlight the history of artists most likely to be around for Planet Mu’s future.

Although it's possible to pick out this individual highlight, it’s when you take in the record in one sitting--with its subtle shifts of mood, highs, and lows--that you arrive on the other side mentally revived.

Needless to say, for the legions pining for another immersion in the aesthetic, Fabric 69 is a worthy companion to the crew's 2010 full-length opus, Feed-Forward.

Spurred by excellent, challenging production, the record maintains an adequate sonic distance from its inspirations, and the bonus disc's excellent selection of remixes fosters a dialogue between jungle, house, and techno's past and present.

Impressive in both scale and execution, Heartland succeeds not just due to Pallett's sizable talents, but his belief in his even larger ambition.

The unifying factor? It's Para's evocative beauty, a underlying glimmer that flows from the album's sumptuous opening chords to its final spectral fade.

Without necessarily bucking the trends of today, Koze has provided a complete picture of his truly singular outlook on dance music.

Jaga Jazzist transforms potentially icy sonics into warm, clever outbursts with apparent ease.

New Energy finally feels like an album that is truly unique, and characteristic of Hebden’s style. An artist comfortable with his tools.

In the end, Heliosphere is everything a techno LP should be, an effort that's not only a platform for delivering established sounds, but also an avenue for revealing new sides of the artist's production abilities and imagination.

Too Many Voices provides as many moments of disquiet, albeit a particularly exquisite form of disquiet, as it does of comfort.

Every selection here is strong, and though scholars may have heard the lion's share of these tracks already, this is a sturdy, enlightening gateway into a realm that isn't easily penetrable for those who weren't there.

Arpo feels like a real album, with a distinct narrative and recurring themes. Most of all, it’s a captivating and original listen, from an artist who sounds like no one else.

It's that attachment to the Earth that makes Clams Casino's otherworldly hip-hop familiar enough to reach any true lover of beats.

In the end, Virgins only adds to the artist's growing legacy; it's another triumph for Hecker that once again strikes a resounding chord that not many ambient records can.

At times the record is hypnotic and yet mesmerizing with its abstract sound quirks. Heartfelt and authentic, each listen brings something new.

This brand of techno may be high browed, but in this case, it certainly isn't pretentious. Power of Anonymity is one for the dancers.

One of the best editions of Total to come along in a while.

Saginaw's clarity of vision permeates his new record, even during the brief lulls when the music seems to be taking a break to catch its breath, and makes it a resounding statement in his musical career.

Passion may be an ambitious record from beginning to end, but listening to it is a breeze.

The music grows in richness with ritual, an evolution from the material scarcity and obscurity of Basic Channel releases.

Immunity is not for everyone, especially those who come to electronic music merely for its club-ready, dancefloor offerings. But for those who listen seeking to peer into sonic worlds that might not otherwise exist, Hopkins has created one which is rich with gorgeous detail and worth fully exploring.

The music continually jumps between dubstep, house, techno, and beyond, almost never losing its propulsive motion. That kind of flow--matched with top-shelf tunes from around the globe--helps make Pinch's installment for Fabric's ongoing series an outstanding and even-handed display of contemporary soundsystem music that won't likely grow stale any time soon.

The thing that makes the LP so engaging is the fact that Shaw picks a mood and runs with it--this is not an album that lives up to the cliché of taking the listener on a journey; rather, it's a work that roots the listener to a spot and stares them dead in the eyes for an hour.

In terms of song choice, and as an exercise in breaking boundaries, Scuba's DJ Kicks stands as a solid effort on par with the good work he's done with his recent productions.

Dance to it if you must, but enjoy Fading Love for what it is--a lovely, heartfelt set of tunes from a still-evolving composer and producer.

As much as Livity Sound has something for everyone, there's no denying how carefully defined a sound these three have honed.

In the end, Lucky Shiner stands as a proper introduction to a producer who cares as much about moving your body as he does your soul.

These are their beloved records, guzzled up, internalized, and regurgitated in new unrecognizable forms; music of the past as perceived by modern minds; an even balance between tight live instrumentation and charming studio nous. Give this record a few spins, and you’ll succumb to their peculiar, but beguiling world too.

There are a few lulls to be heard on Haven (as in songs like "Someone" or "At Last," that begin with good ideas but never form into anything more substantial), but they are all easily overshadowed by the fascinating convergence of influences that comprise the album's 10 tracks, making it an extremely promising debut and a uniquely assertive statement in its own right.

With Our Love, Snaith largely succeeds in bridging the two worlds, crafting radio-friendly cuts that can't be mistaken for the work anyone but Caribou.

Clearly, Rathbun is a talented producer, and his debut full-length appears to imply that he's nowhere near to running out of ideas.

There's arguably nothing groundbreaking about Pull My Hair Back, but its artful combination of influences, subtle production, and the ambiguous emotional terrain it covers makes it one of the strongest debuts of the year.

What takes shape is a solid, unflinching artistic statement, an effort at moments challenging and bizarre, and at others dreamy and utterly inviting.

What it may lack in sound system-minded sonics it makes up for with its distinctive mix of cacophonous rhythms and touches of warped soul that result in what is, simply put, an accomplished debut LP full of inventive house music.

Though Miami displays a jazzier, looser, and often darker side of Brandt Brauer Frick, it doesn't overshadow the classical techno-ensemble sound the trio first introduced on You Make Me Real.

Listeners won't walk away with a clear narrative about The Inheritors, which is designed for nonlinear exploration. It doesn't pay off all its risks—at times it gets too blurry to follow--but this album sounds like little else.

Picking up right where A Certain Distance left off, the Seattle-based producer's latest LP shows the same passion for methodical soundscapes, which are no less thoughtful for their glowing warmth.

Such uplift from dread makes Strange Weather a fitting party record for our age when so many American Dreams, lived and fantasized, are falling apart. Pass the bottle.

Aju's adventurous boundary pushes are again a valuable addition to the Circus Company discography.

It's a confident attempt to stake out a distinguishable sound within the web of influences and like-minded contemporaries the band has been linked to, including stalwarts like New Order and Radiohead, as well as newer faces like James Blake and The xx.

Chance of Rain will likely prove less controversial than Quarantine, but by no means is it a less challenging record.

You'll Be Safe Forever proceeds in this indeterminate fashion, with Locust maintaining a razor's-edge balance between comforting and disruptive sounds.

It's a different, and more unique effort [than Rooms(s)]. Moreover, the LP doesn't look outside of itself to the same extent that its predecessor did.