Laurel Halo – Chance of Rain

It ends as it starts, book-ended by the brief electric piano meanderings of the opening Dr. Echt, and the closing Out. Mini-overture and coda, they house the body of this beguiling second album from the Michigan producer. A blitzkrieg of twitchy, pulsing beats, its lack of clutter gives it space to breathe. With little in the way of melody, bar the near-euphoria of Ainnome, Chance of Rain is dominated by a battery of skittering rhythms.

Difficult to buttonhole, it’s mix of frenetic snare, warped atmospherics and spartan soundboard sit somewhere between early Aphex Twin and the spare, astringent stylings of Factory Floor. Crafted with considerably more care than its minimal arrangements might immediately suggest, it’s possessed, crucially, of a cool musicality. Thrillingly, its very minimalism highlights sections of Laurel Halo’s canvas left blank – intentionally, you suspect – and crying out to be filled by the listener. Accept that invitation: Chance of Rain has vision and scope to spare. [Gary Kaill]