Most of the album is filled with songs that are either stupidly catchy like Meth Lab, or slower ballads like Step Outside. The standout tracks are admittedly the catchy rockers — the first four tracks are all great at this. The vocal riff in Blackjack Moon and the backbeat (and chorus) of Low Fuel Drug Run are particularly memorable.

My favourite slow song on the record is Mind of My Own. The album loses a little steam in its second half, not because it gets boring, but because this formula is better suited to slower records. That being said, the closing track, Let the 7Horse Run, is spectacular. So weird, so catchy, and ultimately one of the coolest vocal riffs and harmonies I’ve heard in years. Highly recommended.

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Chet’s a master of blending jazz, blues, and a hint of electronic experimentation into an enjoyable cocktail that goes down smooth. His voice has tons of soul, belying his years — he’s not even thirty. What’s most impressive is that Built on Glass is his debut feature-length record, which — considering his vast array of musical influences — is shocking.

The opening track, Release Your Problems, is a great introduction to the record — heavy-hitting, but still catchy — but I could ultimately write a long essay about this album’s many successes. The record is neatly divided by a vocal track simply titled / , but the first half is sprinkled with great songs like Gold and To Me, which has as lovely saxophone emphasis.

The second half of the record really shines. Blush is a stunner. My favourite track off any of the records featured this week, though, is Cigarettes & Loneliness, which is a lush and beautiful look at the most difficult and sad of feelings. Although it’s the least likely to get radio play, Cigarettes & Loneliness feels like it’s really the pivot point of the entire record. Steeped in sadness and buried in synth tones, this is Faker at his most experimental and exploratory. It’s an immensely rewarding listen.

One album in, and it already feels like Chet Faker is one of the genre’s most eclectic and interesting artists. Built on Glass is a stunner, and one that doesn’t feel like it could possibly shatter.

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With No Better Time Than Now, it feels like Shinto is finally willing to be his own man. Allowing his music to breathe more than ever before, it feels like a nearly celebratory record for him. Big beats and dark tonal flourishes decorate what ends up being a surprisingly decadent record perfect for work and play.

Detroit Part 1 makes no bones about this being a darker record than you’d expect, and Perfect Crime follows that up with constant shifts in beat and melody that sound original and memorable compared to Shigeto’s peers.

Miss U is the most popular track and the most well-reviewed track on the record, perhaps for good reason — it’s a serious earworm. I love the opening beat. From what I’ve seen a lot of people say about tracks like Silver Lining the record is creatively stimulating — and perhaps that’s because of the steps Shinto is taking to expand his own creative identity.

There are old theories about how you can perceive the artist’s emotions through their work. No Better Time Than Now makes the case for that: one feels Saginaw working through his creative inspiration to try and find something original to say, something new. And although he’s not redefining the genre, it feels safe to say that Shigeto has now begun exploring his own identity. No Better Time Than Now is proof not just that Saginaw has something to say, but that he’s worth listening to.

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Sampling art films has another benefit, in that most viewers won’t be familiar with the samples he’s using. (After all, how many people have seen Dogtooth? And how many who had seen it would recognize the sample in The World Is My Shotgun?) Film samples are all over the record, and even if they’re not necessarily recognizable (like in Felicity or Fool’s Game), they often add a sprinkling of atmosphere. And in a world drowning in electronic beats and twinkles, a hint of atmosphere doesn’t go unappreciated.

Film samples also remove the need for vocal work from Evans, which, according to his Basecamp profile, was a bit of a relief for him. It’s also a relief for us: bass music too often loses itself in guest vocal performances. Here, the focus is on creating texture through music, using voices sampled from film’s to create tension and provide backing loops.

It all adds up to a surprisingly inventive record from Rain Dog, a downtempo project that never fails to be original thanks to an inventive use of cinema. Two Words is a must for fans of electronic music and fans of film.

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Unlike a lot of electronic remixes, this is still handled by a band member. The band’s Nathan Shaw did the remixes himself, which is phenomenal, and has an interest in electronic music. This is his outlet for that.

Fans of Said the Whale’s songs will find electronic interpretations of riff-heavy choruses like I Love You and Safe to Say rather odd, but their large beats provide different insights into the way that pop punk naturally sounds. It’s not just a different feeling, but it becomes a different story.

For the record (no puns intended), the songs aren’t awful — in fact, some of what’s going on is fantastic, like in On The Ropes — but they aren’t necessarily improvements on the originals. In fact, they aren’t even recognizably the originals anymore.

And that’s the point. Said the Whale are offering this not for fans of their music, but to get a different taste of their own. It feels almost like it’s a way for them to feel inspired again, and to try something new. As an experiment, it’s successful. As music, even though it leaves something to be desired, its willful experimenting is admirable.

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