The Black Dog - Riphead EP

The last remaining charter member of techno classics The Black Dog, Ken Downie continues to curate the group's old sound: jazzy high-hats, tricky electro, and floaty, ethereal, keyboard lines. On 'Riphead', his first release for Glasgow-based Soma Recordings, he glitches up his stuff a bit and there's a fair amount of crackle in the keyboard wash. While this provides a nice counterpoint to his former mates' sometimes antiseptic perfectionism, this record lacks the propulsive fizz of the group's best work. Still, some sounds are so elegant they never go out of style. More than a decade on, TBD remains a pleasant, if slightly nostalgic, listen. [Andrew Monroe]