As the name suggests, Floating Points are hard to pin down. One iteration of Sam Shepherd’s outfit consists of banging DJ sets with Four Tet and Caribou; the first album, Elaenia (2015), by contrast, consisted of an immersive tableau of drones, jazz and analogue burbles. Its equally involving successor relocates from London to the Mojave desert with a live band; a short film accompanies the release. Big skies and windswept topographies inform this record, which is as much about its process (swinging surround-sound microphones) as it is about the finished product. It’s less jazz and neoclassical than its predecessor, and more space rock – tracks such as Kelso Dunes introduce motorik beats into Shepherd’s modus operandi to no ill effect.
