UK musician Matt Cutler came out of nowhere last year to release his incredible debut Everything Is Changing Colour. Lone, like many laptop artists, was heavily influenced by Boards of Canada, but his style was more than just a re-hash of the Boards style; it was almost re-invigorating the early Boards sound. On the second half of his debut, Lone's songs drifted more into the hip-hop realm, and he's continued that sound on follow-up Lemurian, a strong contender for album of the year in my mind. While Everything Is Changing Colour was a collection of songs, Lemurian is an album through and through. Cutler takes the influence of Boards of Canada and melds it with his love of instrumental hip-hop pioneers like J Dilla and Madlib. The result is instrumental hip-hop on steroids and probably a game-changer for scope of the instrumental hip-hop sound. About the only frame of reference I can come up with for hip-hop this fresh is Lukid's incredible debut last year, but where Onandon was cold and calculating, Lemurian is free and irreverent. Don't let the coked-out 80s cover fool you; this is a serious step forward.

I tend to avoid a lot of the electronic post rock that's released these days. A lot of bands seem to think that because they create long trackss with heavy guitar over electronic beats that they're somehow special when the music's actually completely forgettable. That's why I was surprised by this band Downliners Sekt, my latest listen in the crowded field of elecronified post rock. Sekt, who release all of their music for free on their website, create actual songs where the instruments and electronics are harmonized instead of just put on top of each other. I hesitate to even stain the music with the term post rock, because it's really just well produced instrumental music. Imagine World's End Girlfriend without all of the cheesy elements. What also makes the album special is how they switch between heavy and softer moments, switching from intense to chilled and back. Definitely experimental, but never headache inducing, The Saltire Wave is definitely a record more traditional post rockers can take some queues from.

Prints self-titled debut album was some of the most refreshing indie pop I've heard in a long while. There was an effortlessness missing from just about everything else that made Prints stand out. Released on the most unlikely of labels, post rock stalwarts Temporary Residence, the album struck me as just some talented musicians having fun, and making it look easy, even asking with the title track "is it magic, if it's easy?" Well, it was. This is their follow-up EP to that album, initially supposed to be a single for "Too Much Water", which is included as a video here 9in awful blue screen manipulated fashion). After the band finished the b-sides, they decided they were too strong to be considered such, and re-tooled this collection as an EP. The EP sees Prints going in a groovier direction than their debut, almost going dance-pop at times. But as usual, they do this with style and effortlessness. "Fire Days" brings them back to their initial sound, and it's one of their most beautiful songs yet. Also included is a mash-up remix of "Pretty Tick" and "Meditation" from the debut by Thee Loving Hand, and it's also a worthy addition.

I'll make a vast overstatement, why not; Detroit Underground is the last pure IDM label. Warp, Rephlex, Skam, and Planet Mu have largely veered into other genres (indie rock, classic electro, grime, etc.); Schematic, Sublight, Toytronic, and Merck have gone out of business; and I really feel like Detroit Underground is the last purely forward-thinking label, still interested in pushing the boundaries of sound. Their vinyl-heavy catalogue and horrendous U.S. distribution (all of their twelve-inches seem to only be available on an obscure German website) have inevitably plunged the label into semi-obscurity, but the two big names heading this release just might reverse the trend. Jimmy Edgar's latest album was rejected by Warp (presumably because it didn't contain vocals, guitars, or NME buzz), and Richard Devine seems to be sans label at the moment; they've paired up for this fantastic split EP, showcasing some of the very best off-kilter IDM I've ever heard.

Arctic Hospital is Eric Bray, an American techno producer who has released the best 12" and album to date on Gabe Koch's dance-oriented Merck offshoot, Narita Records. "Neon Veils," his second full-length, comes to us by way of an unknown Japanese label (this is its first release), and gives us another sampling of Bray's IDM-inflected techno. The BPMs on this record are a bit higher than usual for the genre, and most of these tracks seem fine-tuned for the dancefloor, where earlier Arctic Hospital material seemed equally applicable to home listening. This material is surgically precise, icy, and devastating. With news of Narita's closing surfacing just a few days ago, it's nice to see other labels popping up to release this type of music.

On the first listen, Madison, WI based instrumental five-piece band, Cougar, sounds peculiar - not fitting into any specific classification (and proud of it!), yet tending to be loosely associated with post-rock more than any other genre. But after returning to their debut album, Law, for the second time, I realize that it's exactly what I want to hear. Describing their music as "emergency rock" geared towards "rescue culture", Cougar experiments with beats, harmony, and structure. The production ranges from electronic to organic, reminding me of earlier tracks by Telefon Tel Aviv (minus the glitch) and perhaps even Four Tet. Some rhythms are influenced by electronica and I would go as far as say upbeat instrumental hip-hop beats. There's also a special treat in the "intermissions" between the main tracks. Throughout the album, Cougar sprinkles five consecutively named sketches. These are the experimental pieces that are extremely fun to listen to, reminiscent of pieces on Radiohead's Kid A - I only wish they were expanded into full tracks. The exploratory approach of Cougar's composition brings back the curiosity and excitement which I first encountered through Grails. There is no formula. There is no tiring structure. On Law, Cougar switches gears and takes you into a new direction at a whim. And the mastering is outstanding - I guess it has to be, when you find out that John McEntire (Tortoise and The Sea and Cake) is behind the production. I find myself returning to Cougar over and over.

Now this is a varied collection. Reminding me of the Hackers soundtrack (you know the one), Terraforming is a journey through 90s electronic sounds, all impeccably crafted so that each so is memorable and different from the next. There's ambient here, downtempo, IDM, ambient techno - it's all here to take you back to when Aphex Twin and Orbital were king. But Gift Culture provides more than just a trip down memory lane; he brings something new to the table by just how much he is able to vary his sound. The first track sounds like an uptempo groovy track, but then he segues to downtempo, even going for glitchy IDM for a while, and for the closer he even busts out some guitar over some extremely wobbly bass. This is obviously a case of a knowledgeable producer flexing his muscles, but not to the detriment of the music, as each track is crafted toward making a great song, if not a cohesive, flowing album. If you were born and bred on electronic music, this will definitely be a fun listen.

House and Techno innovator Ian Pooley is at it again with his fifth album, four years after the inconsistent Souvenirs. Ian Pooley's taking this album closer to his roots of techno-infused house, restraining the Latin influence that dominated his past two albums and hearkening more the sound he explored on his classic second album Meridian. Arriving with little fanfare and press, this release strikes me more as Ian just having fun instead of trying to make a grand opus of a record. In Other Words sounds like Pooley at his most relaxed, letting sounds float in and out disregarding without much regard to whether they're this or that. Vocal contributions and samples are treated the exact same way which is great, as his emphasis on vocals on Souvenirs accounted for most of the missteps on that record. His move from hometown Mainz to Berlin may have signaled this change in approach, as Pooley no longer has to scour the world for sounds or collaborators to inspire with such a vibrant scene right in front of him. Even if he's no longer as innovative as he once was, with In Other Words, Pooley definitely shows he can keep on groovin'.

I don't know why, but I simply love extended post-rock songs that evolve over a course of ten to fifteen minutes. A track becomes a whole story, a movement, an extraordinary composition. And Daturah, the Frankfurt, Germany based instrumental five-piece, accomplishes just that. The dynamics build up and drop, the rhythm breaks and picks up again, and the melodies draw me in, unfolding like a trip through a familiar mountain climb, only to reveal a new breathtaking view once you reach the top; and once I'm at the peak, I fall and soar with music towards the sea of sound. I also can relate to this description in the band's bio: "Sand disperses. Counterpoints are set discreet. Suddenly and abrupt you climb up. Newly awoken the listener gets pulled up in a mighty swirl. Resistance seems pointless, but maybe someone is rescuing the listener from an apocalyptical, stormy sea..." Reverie is Daturah's sophomore album. The five tracks seamlessly flow into one another, at times dropping into the ambiance of shoegaze, at times insisting on crashing down the post-metal barrier. Daturah formed back in 2003. After the self titled debut release in 2005, Daturah has toured the world, playing alongside The Thermals, Do Make Say Think, Gregor Samsa, and Mono.

Dark and brooding, Blackfilm envelopes you like a thick fog creeping off a cooling swampland. I recall a quote by Jim Morrison (which got embedded in my brain after Emmanuel Top's 1994 single Turkish Bazaar) - "The music was new, black, polished chrome and came over the summer like liquid night". Blackfilm is the anonymous Hungarian artist on Spectraliquid Records, a Greek independent label organized by Mobthrow, Subheim, Katja and Xsoz. The self-titled debut album from Blackfilm is only the label's second release (the first being an obligatory compilation, titled Konkrete). And I believe it's off to a nice start. Blackfilm's sound is a bricolage of downtempo, breaks, instrumental hip-hop, and an excellent selection of sampled modern classical strings. The Amon Tobin reference was not accidental - Blackfilm indeed reminds me a lot of his earlier works. I would even be bold enough to declare that my sensitive ear picked up a few familiar samples (Stalingrad is an excellent example). That can only serve as a compliment from every direction for Blackfilm. I'm a big Amon Tobin fan and have been craving and begging for someone to defibrillate his pioneered sound. Of course Blackfilm introduces his own cinematic and orchestral elements that "move from fearsome, lonely frames to chaotic feelings of urban self-destruction." Spectraliquid goes a step further and brings in Volker Kahl (Kattoo) to master the album. And once you cross that line, there is no going back. The production is crispy, tight and menacing. Excellent soundtrack to contemplate your existence on.