Second time around, London producer SBTRKT’s dizzying electronic soundscapes are fleshed out by all sorts of voices: returnees Sampha and Jessie Ware, plus Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (on the terrific retro funk of New Dorp. New York), Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek (on the jazzy, post-dubstep Look Away) and newcomer Raury (on the excellent Higher). But such is SBTRKT’s authorship that these diverse tracks all come with his imprimatur, and a unifying sense of unease. It’s not quite a masterpiece – the dancefloor gets too short shrift– but it ably brings some fiercely non-linear soul music to deserved mainstream attention.
