QuarantineHyperdub ****

As Grimes, tUnE-yArDs and Julie Holter have discovered, these are interesting times for experimental artists who are willing to deploy a pop edge. While it's still probably a stretch to imagine the mainstream cosying up to her work, the woman born Ina Cube has turned in one of the most adventurous and thrilling releases so far in 2012. What's compelling about Halo's debut album is how she utilises the ways and means of ambient and underground pop's previous lynchpins to come up with a whole new set of abstract broadcasts. Both in scope and scale, tracks such as Airborne, Holoday, Carcass and Light + Space captivate as they swing and purr with aplomb. Halo may have displayed her smarts on previous EP and cassette releases, but nothing in her back catalogue matches the widescreen, fully realised and confident sounds displayed here. laurelhalo.com

Download tracks:Airborne, Carcass, Light + Space