Lord for £39 Planet Mu****: Landstrumm's Restaurant of Assassins(2007) explored the common ground between underground techno and dubstep, but the veteran Scottish producer takes a wider view on this follow-up.
Early 1990s rave, bleep'n'bass, Detroit electro and new school crunk all feature, with heaving basslines providing a cohesive narrative. While he occasionally replicates old styles, it's his on-the-fly arrangements that really shine. Reconstituted rave riffs and sugar-sweet melodic slivers are teased out on the menacing Old Rabbits; dissected glitchy percussion and a pulverising bass power the hip-hop beats on Little Help from Rustie; and Category D sounds like mavericks Drexciya trying to make their ethereal electro heard above howling sirens and distorted rhythms. The computer blips on Dirty Butcher mark the album's bleakest point, but Landstrumm also knows that experimentation and fun are not incompatible. www.planet mu.com
Download tracks: The King of Malta, Category D, Old Rabbits
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