Fabriclive 73 has a formidable sense of both style and consistency--qualities that don't necessarily ooze glamor, but are slowly and steadily carving out new territory in the interstices of rapidly collapsing genres.

With over 30 releases this year alone, L.I.E.S. isn't always an easy label to keep up with, but the embarrassment of riches contained within Music for Shut-Ins suggests that the effort may well be worth it.

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.

In the end, his attempt to tackle the alienating, intense feelings related to this subject turns out to not only be insightful and emotional, but oddly graceful as well.

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.

At a time when dance music's past is often treated with elegiac reverence, the fact that Re-Engineering takes a clever, witty, and irreverent approach to its influences feels bracing rather than tired.

Zunkuft may be even more sleep-inducing than the average ambient album, but it's worth admiring for its robust, and not humorless, conceptual solidity.

The LP's 11 tracks play like a string of variations on two or three ideas, but most of Murray's and Smith's experimenting is strong enough that Syndrome Syndrome sounds more like a collection of singles written by a veteran outfit dedicated to perfecting one beloved sound.

Van Hoesen does leave some room for improv, but it's a bit too low-key to feel like anything's at stake.

Knowing what he is capable of with his band, though, one can't help but feel a little unfulfilled by his solo effort. If anything, SUM/ONE's moments of constriction emphasize how vital the expansive jam aspect is to Gang Gang Dance.

Psutka's production on A/B Till Infinity is evocative and daring, and combines a future-oriented polish with an austere sense of simplicity, solidifying Egyptrixx's distinctiveness amongst a new crop of surface-obsessed underground producers.

Despite clocking in at under 15 minutes, the plethora of ideas Teengirl Fantasy displays on Nun shows that the pair is unwilling to rest on its laurels and ultimately represents a bold step forward.

Spaces is still a wonderful document of the powerful force that Nils Frahm is as a performer. At the same time, the album in some ways seems like a missed opportunity--no one has questioned the man's ability as a live act (quite the opposite, actually), so the record can't help coming off like a bit of a "gimme."

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

Talabot's DJ-Kicks proves to be an essential listen, not only because it is an immaculate mix in its own right--one which moves swiftly through a graceful arc--but also because there is just so much vital music to take in over the course of its 70-plus minutes.

The EP is an exhausting listen, one that offers an experience of immersion, not itemization. Autechre hasn't lost a step, and this EP is certainly memorable.

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

Wenu Wenu's success lies in its ability to cleave memorable passages from homogenized surroundings.

Restless Idylls is Lobo's most polished statement yet.

Seams' sonic details are most potent when allowed to sink in undisturbed.

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.

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.

Thankfully, he's enough of a careful, diligent, and experienced artist to make even the lackluster experiments feel vital and significant in the larger scope of his oeuvre.

Drone Logic is a fastidious and memorable debut, though the middle suffers from a significant lull in energy.

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.

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

It's a work of and inspired by ritualized labor, haunted by the irretrievable loss of a culture.

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.

Dream pop is rarely celebrated for its attention to melody, as it usually places texture and atmosphere higher up on the totem poll, but At Home would have benefitted from a few more melodies that were capable of sticking with the listener past the album's running time.

Apar is left to sound good but not great, worthwhile but not essential, Delorean but not quite.

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.

Occasional lyrical missteps aside, Arrington's voice sounds as smooth as ever on this album, which is great, although it does overshadow Dam-Funk's significant vocal talent.

Glow feels bloated from the start.

As it is now, John Wizards is an effortlessly fun, pan-global pop record that stands on its own, no qualification needed.

Melidis has surely succeeded at creating a sunny, idea-rich patchwork. But listeners looking for some emotional nuance might find it a touch saccharine overall.

Black Jazz Signature seems intended to shepherd people toward the Black Jazz reissue series. It no doubt does a terrific job doing just that, but it stands nicely by itself as a personal "best of" and a great DJ mix. Fans of Parrish--and anyone receptive to this sort of jazz, really--will very likely appreciate what's on offer here.

The LP is merely a collection of somewhat compelling, hip-hop-leaning beats that largely go nowhere; it's more like a dressed-up beat tape, and not a particularly exciting one at that.

The LP is merely the byproduct of Barnes steadily refining his intricate and very particular sound.

For the most part, it's simply a pleasure to sit back and plug in.

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.

Snow Ghosts has arrived with 10 songs straight out the gate, leaving us with a strong first impression and a lingering suspicion that there may not be much fertile ground for Augustus Ghost and Throwing Snow to find together.

While other producers are content to experiment with tirelessly looped Amen breaks, dBridge continues to push within the tradition, often to dazzling effect.

As a complete package, Blue Gardens comes across as impressively well thought-out and refreshingly imaginative--it's a bright flash of creativity in an already eccentric genre.

The album may be architectural in its deliberateness, but it's not overly academic; during its best moments, Music for Objects could even be described as fun.

II may actually prove itself to be the group's most accomplished record, and one Moderat fans will come back to more often down the line.

Joke in the Hole is an unusually infectious outing for an artist whose recent work with Black Dice, although intermittently catchy, remains as unrelentingly challenging as it's ever been.

Raffertie by and large stays out of the way of his songwriting, and opts for subtlety over bombast--an asset that eludes many songwriters.

Some may complain that Blondes hasn't radically expanded its horizons on Swisher, but frankly, such an effort isn't even necessary, as there's still fresh ground to cover within the confines of the duo's engrossing signature style.

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.

Enthusiast is a solid, eclectic offering, and, if it truly is Siriusmo's last, it's not a bad way to end a long career.

From a distance, Paradise continues to connect the dots of Hood's career, but up close, it's completely absorbing.

Slow Focus has the sheen and seemingly high stakes of a blockbuster movie--and enough easy thrills to compensate for the stakes being, in reality, pretty low.

An effortless, catatonic undercurrent carries listeners through Her Blurry Pictures and somehow, it manages to put the subliminal neuroticism of Mathew Jonson's music at the center of the listening experience while remaining pleasant to listen to.

It gets tiresome to listen to 14 bangers in a row. Had the duo distilled the finest cuts from its massive tracklist into something a bit sleeker, Ghost Systems Rave could have been an absolutely smashing release.

Comfort won't be for everyone, but it's hard to argue that the risks Coles has taken don't pay off. If nothing else, it's certainly fascinating to watch her expand her aesthetic beyond the dancefloor.

In collecting the a-sides from both of his 2012 singles and propping them up with another half-hour's worth of songs, Airhead's debut full-length only makes that stylistic restlessness more frustrating.

More often than not, those organic sounds [dusty record pops, nocturnal nature recordings, tape hiss, distant car radios, bleeping busy signals, and street noise] feel like the music's most relatable characteristics, providing moments of unpredictability and liveliness to an album which paints almost exclusively with monochrome hues.

It's hard to knock Aguayo's unique spirit, and the boldness with which that shines through on this LP is certainly captivating in its own right.

So many things have been synthesized into Chewed Corners from so many sources and ideas that any sense of direction, reaction, or engagement with the cutting edge is markedly less adventurous than most releases on his own label.

While its age can sometimes be a bit obvious, Yessir Whatever is well put together and organized; it feels less like a blatant retrospective (or worse, a "greatest hits") and more like a forgotten beat tape.

Considering Saul's reputation and pedigree, crafting a largely non-dancefloor album under a pseudonym is a brave move, but one that Getting Closer arguably vindicates.

Truthfully, there's no singular tune from Modern Worship that stands out in the same unforgettable way that "Phoenix" did, but as a long-form piece, Hyetal's sophomore full-length is the most satisfying work he's released so far.

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.

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.

Clocking in at a breezy 37 minutes, Mount Kimbie's second album feels a bit slight by the time it's finished, though not because it's short on great ideas or compelling tunes.

Tranklements is straining to belong somewhere; in the process, it ends up sounding more like it wants to be defiant instead of inspired.

Few truly distinctive examples of footwork have found their into the world lately, but RP Boo's LP goes a long way towards revealing the potential diversity and immensity of the genre.

Panorama Bar 05, the latest offering, is a consistently well-crafted snapshot of the dancefloor as presided over by long-time resident DJ Steffi.

As a whole, Grime 2.0 works as both an introduction and a re-introduction to a sound that's still without an official expiration date--and won't likely get one anytime soon.

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 better idea to approach the album for what it is: a pretty, if somewhat slight take on sun-saturated psychedelia.

The angst and abrasiveness inherent to Adult. is still present in some form (even a quick look at track names like "Nothing Lasts," "At the End of It All," and "Heartbreak" reveals that much), but the band has undoubtedly smoothed things over and pushed its sound closer to the dancefloor.

Only a handful of Replicant Moods' tracks make a lasting impression, but this foursome still consistently gets the entropy-to-pattern ratio just right.

It wanders more like a Hype Williams album would, and leaves that opening promise to dangle unfulfilled.

Altogether, Gordian is a solid listen and another LP that upholds Cosmin TRG's deserved reputation as an inventive producer whose output continues to remain dependable.

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.

If only Slava had focused on the highlights and cut the weaker numbers from his debut LP, he might have had a rather strong EP to share.

Perhaps realizing that it's divisive and reductive to only dabble in one or the other, SMD opts for a satisfactory middle ground in its live sets, rearranging the pair's accessible pop moments as skeletal reincarnations of themselves.

One of the album's strong points is the balance it confidently finds between active and passive, as if it's encouraging listeners to be aware of their attention drifting between their thoughts and the spacious terrain provided by the music.

While the duo proves to have an able hand at constructing reflective, chilled-out, or pleasant vibes, the record's darker and more brooding auras come up a little short.

The LP's strength is in that undecidedness. When he leans too far to one side, which actually doesn't happen all that often, the album can feel mournful or facile.

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.

At it best moments, Overgrown proves that the two sides of James Blake—the dancefloor oddball and the crossover songwriter—can exist side by side, but it also demonstrates that, at least right now, the balance between the two is totally off.

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.

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

A cursory listen to The North Borders may give a "been there done that" impression at points, but a closer listen reveals just how much he's carefully pushing his own boundaries.

Nostalgic is an exciting journey, but during the moments when Lapalux fails to provide a coherent roadmap, it's a bit too easy for the rest of us to get lost.

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.

Disregarding the CD's tacked-on bonus cuts, what takes place between the record's two "Voiceprint"s is a richly detailed, time-dilating set from a producer who can make the most out of narrow limitations.

LISm remains a particularly mesmerizing listen, traveling through an impressively wide range of sounds and seamlessly blending them into a unified compostion.

As always, it's a lot to take in; even after a dozen listens, the album's too oblique to really register in the memory. That slipperiness does nothing to diminish the moments when things really stick, though.

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.

Anxiety is a draining front-to-back listen; it becomes much more comfortable when one is able to take each track as an individual single. However, there is a reward for making it to the end of Ashin's therapy session.

Field-Pickering isn't yet the type to release a grand album statement, but so far, his best moments have been the monolithic ones. Now, it's just a matter of amassing enough of them for a long-player.

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.

Ultimately, Dutch is less vibrant and, well, relevant than dance deconstructions by Actress or Oneohtrix, but it's also a lot harder to pin down, and there's a rogue-ish appeal to that.

Whether or not one buys into Menzies' unrelentingly bleak vision, it's hard not to admire how well he captures the mood.

The record may not be Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill, but pieces like "Living Room" are the essence of Harris's singular oeuvre.