Crash Recoil by Surgeon

There was a time when bands would go on tour to fine-tune their songs before hitting the recording studio but these days it's a luxury few emerging artists can afford (the tour only coming after proven record sales). In Surgeon’s case (real name Anthony Child) Crash Recoil is his ninth album so experimentation was feasible through his regular live sets (and arguably performances with Daniel Bean as The Transcendence Orchestra). This not only gave him the chance to fine-tune ideas but, importantly, helped him reconcile his flagging relationship with Techno.

Through technical wizardry and deploying live techniques in his production methods, Child presents eight carefully crafted tracks across 50 minutes. At once fidgety and embalming, this is old-skool Techno with a contemporary kick. And while all the textbook tricks are here (little drops, Ambient spaces, descending chords, layers of sound) it sounds so fresh. Crystal clear percussion jostles with murky bass while the diverse drum programming is taut and honed; a masterclass of complex rhythms, twirling and snaking around at 134 BPM. Add in all the little snippets of dialogue and subtle field recordings that underpin everything, along with the clever track sequence that follows a shallow but satisfying arc and you've got a sophisticated, well-produced album. Or, on the other hand, you've simply got eight bangers that you'll want to keep playing repeatedly.