Airhead – For Years

Having first come to attention as a collaborator with James Blake on 2010's Pembroke EP, Rob McAndrews finally reveals his true colours. While the partnership is resurrected on Knives' sparse instrumental journey, Blake's penchant for marrying found sound, eclectic beats and spectral electronics with traditional songs is a world away from Airhead's often beautifully fractured productions.

Opener Wait has more in common with the collaged R&B of Holy Other, or the vocal experiments of Bjork; while the woozy, pitch-bent vocal samples of standout Pyramid Lake are more like Blake's work on the ambitious CMYK EP. Milkola Bottle's amped-up but minimal take on future garage is enlivened by a stop-start structure and washes of rhythmic static, while the beatless, guitar-flecked Masami is a moment of blissful calm, filled with reverberating string textures. McAndrews displays a confident grasp – For Years is weird, sure, but full of promise. [Bram E. Gieben]