All of that is to say: there is a degree of complexity to Empyrean Atlas that does not exist amongst most of their contemporaries. The album feels a little bit like math rock, but it’s largely experimental with its rhythms. And while the band would like you to believe they’re making something new, saying that would be doing them a disservice: they still stick within the conventions and boundaries of modern rock music. A chorus still sounds like a chorus, even if it is almost jazzy in feel and euphoric in its reckless abandon of standard time signatures.

All of that is to say, despite Empyrean Atlas’ best efforts, Inner Circle still feels recognizable. It’s a good thing, because it allows the EP to remain accessible despite its mathematical complexity. There’s a lot to unpack with Inner Circle, but if you choose not to get too deep into it, you’ll still find a lot to like.

Empyrean Atlas might not be reinventing the genre, but they are a singularly new talent within it — and they’re positively refreshing.

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In a lot of ways, Tender Buttons feels like an experiment in minimalism. While not out of place today, critics observed at the time that it felt like certain tracks were missing pieces. Now, we recognize this sound as a sort of minimalist shoe-gazing dream pop, but Tender Buttons feels like it was a psychedelic tour-de-force ten years ahead of its time.

The vocals on this record are in a particularly special place: thanks to minimalist production and a lack of other in-your-face instrumentation, the vocals really stand out. And their airy nature, but post-punk surroundings mean that this can fit in well next to Girlpool or Beach House.

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What makes Girlpool so wonderful is their ability to sharply emote through their simplicity. Although their playing isn’t complicated — the most intricate guitar parts could be picked up quickly even by a newbie to the instrument — the album finds its power within that simplicity.

It takes a couple listens to notice, because it doesn’t feel completely strange, but Girlpool doesn’t have a drummer. Despite that, their songs still retain an impressive sense of aggression and vitality. While you could call the band folk, if you don’t at least label it as punk-inspired punk, you’re missing the most important part of their sound.

Punk, not unlike hip hop, has long given voices to the voiceless and the impoverished. That’s why, quite often, it feels as if some music is improperly classified as punk (or hip hop, for that matter). What matters with these genres isn’t so much the stringency of the instrumentation, but the performers themselves. In the case of Girlpool, it feels as if disenfranchised and confused twenty-first century women, often inexplicably removed from our cultural conversation, are being given voices. Girlpool are socially conscious, they’re mad, and they make great music. Not a bad combination.

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Even the record’s most popular tracks would be considered oddities by today’s standards, but I’d argue that’s what actually makes it a great record. Before electronic music became a convention, Autechre was testing the boundaries and trying things out. And I don’t feel like we get that today, at least not in the same way.

Part of that is the way the album embraces techno. In a lot of circles, particularly today’s synth-pop scene, techno seems to have fallen out of fashion. Autechre was inventive with Incunabula, but they weren’t so many years ahead of their time as to sound like Sylvan Esso. They were influenced by techno like everybody else was in 1993.

That being said, it’s not as if all electronic music used to sound like this. Autechre is in a league of their own throughout. Even they know they’re doing something unique: Incunabula is Latin and references the early development or infancy of an object. (The term was originally used to describe printed books published before 1501.) It’s a sly reference to the groundbreaking work Autechre was doing in the genre.

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