You have to give credit to Dave Huismans. He creates a totally minimal (and gorgeous) dubstep album in 2008, and in 2009 he goes the opposite direction pumping out banging 12"'s while most dubsteppers are scratching their heads at how to keep their productions relevant. "Love In Outer Space" is 2562's third single this year, following a split with Martyn on Tectonic and the "Embrace" 12" for Martyn's 3024 label. This particular 12" finds 2562 way far out in the techno realm, with only traces of the overt dub influences of some of his past work. This is clearly a place 2562 is comfortable at because this might be his best release to date. These tracks are compact grooves that can work in dubstep, techno, or even alternative hip-hop sets along with Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, and the like. "Love In Outer Space" opens with a super wobbly bassline that would make FWD>> proud, then a hyperactive synth joins the party. You're thinking, "okay, normal dubstep tune coming here." Then the other sounds start to creep in, and if you're hanging out at FWD>>, you're wondering if someone blended this with Flying Lotus or something. Things deviate further outside the dubstep safe zone until you finally realized he just used dubstep as intro. "Third Wave" is an epic twist of fate in the intersections of dubstep, techno, and hip-hop. Its synths twist and turn for over six minutes. After a while, they reveal bass that's more in line with American hip-hop than UK dubstep. I really get a sense with this release that Huismans has outgrown the restrictions that have been placed on dubstep, and that's a good thing.

Burial is probably the most exciting artist to emerge in the last couple years, and Four Tet's recent material has been a vast improvement over his earlier folk-inflected work (in this reviewer's humble opinion!). One can imagine, then, how excited I was to hear about a collab between the two, and they totally didn't let me down. It's not a split EP, which immediately becomes apparent; both sides sound so eerily like both artists that if I'd heard these tracks in isolation, I literally would have said, "Wow, that sounds like Four Tet covering Burial, or something!" An extremely high quality 12", which truly combines the best of both styles - dubstep and a curious sort of laptop-based electronics.

Drum'n'bass DJ turned dubstepper Martijn Deykers releases his debut album after a series of stunning 12"'s. I first came across Martyn with his Broken/Shadowcasting 12", and it set the stage for genre-bending dubstep that has become the standard of the scene. Martyn has continued to blur the line between techno and dubstep with his singles along with others like 2562 and Peverelist, and now has finally transitioned to the album format. One could argue the album is more techno/house than dubstep. He's obviously using the long player format to show even more variety. His vocal track reveals its charm after multiple listens, especially when the bass wobble emerges, and his collab with Spaceape is a worthy competitor to the top songs on Memories Of The Future. "Vancouver" and "Natural Selection" make re-apperances as well, with their muffled vocals again sounding like nothing else out there. It's clear that Martyn's doing a lot of different things here and really wanted to do that. It might upset some purists, but it's really a quite impressive album.

The dubstep albums are starting to come out of the woodwork now, and the latest is from IDM veteran turned dubstep label manager Kamal Joory. The IDM influence is not completely lost here, as Kamal infuses IDMish sounds into the traditional dubstep template. Even with that influence, Island Noise starts out with a fairly standard sound, still relying much on convention and technique. But as the record develops, Kamal starts to define his own style more and more, with the closer Pheli Nazir sounding like dubstep re-routed through a mosque. A nice record from one of the more talented members of the scene.

Dubstep won't make do with EP's anymore, and fortunately we're getting great full length albums. Pinch's debut is a fantastic taste of dubstep; Burial's darkness meets Shackleton's Eastern melodies with familiar and mesmerising British vocals. In fact, the vocals are such a fundamental part of this album that it's hard to understand the need for making it a double album, with the second CD exactly the same as the first but without vocals. Ditch the second CD and listen to Underwater Dancehall; its novelty is bound to quench your thirst.