Like it or not, the return of Daft Punk represents the hottest dance music release in years, coming off the back of a spectacularly effective PR campaign. All of this has shown the album as a format is still alive and kicking, and that it remains possible to keep an element of mystery, even in a world where personalities get the close and relentless scrutiny of social media. Daft Punk will forever keen a barrier between us and them as long as they keep their robot faces, and that forms part of t...

Jaga Jazzist and the Britten Sinfonia make a natural pairing, with the orchestra following the ensemble's lead in music that is part improvised but fully coherent. This is a natural follow on from the Norwegian band's 'One Armed Bandit' album, and although much of the source material is taken from that record, it is reimagined and reinvented in vivid colours and bright new arrangements. Perhaps predictably the opening title track responds really well to a quasi-orchestral arrangement, while 'Toc...

For much of 'Silver Wilkinson' Bibio returns to more pastoral climes, keeping a fine balance between electronic and acoustic as he navigates his way through a charming set of tracks. His core style remains, though - tuneful, slightly quirky, always colourful, and with an eye on 1960s psychedelia that works really well when projected forward on to electronic tracks. 'À tout à l'heure' is especially good, with that winning mix of quirkiness and wistfulness, while 'Business Park' is lively and upbe...

Letherette's main objective is to introduce a bit of much-needed fun back into electronic music – and by and large the Wolverhampton duo succeed in music that charms, smiles and most importantly impresses. At times their off-kilter funk seems to float in a dream, but elsewhere in a track like 'Warstones' they pump some iron at the disco to good effect. Tracks like 'After Dawn' combine a bit of pop sensibility, a couple of hooks, a sense of exploration and a whiff of nostalgia in the harmonies, a...

This collection of eight tracks represents another chapter in the collaboration series between Burnt Friedman and Jaki Liebezeit, one of Can's founding members. As the title suggests the emphasis of each of the unnamed tracks is firmly on rhythm, though the approach is a relatively subtle one – and in the persuasive third track the pair introduce soft, chant-like vocals. Some of the percussion is tuned, which means there is an occasional melodic thread, but most of the time it's all about the in...

It's difficult to explain, but Boris Carloff's debut album is a bit of a head scratcher. Not in a bad way, you understand, but the music moves restlessly between a number of different styles in reflection of his varied musical background. Normally that is a good thing, but here the music struggles to settle, giving the impression that the clearly talented producer and vocalist hasn't fully settled on a definitive approach yet, remaining something of a work in progress. The progress is found in s...

In need of a synth pop shot in the arm? Well you'll find it here, without a shadow of a doubt, because Big Black Delta make fabulously upfront music to administer that immediate musical high. 'Put The Gun On The Floor' is a brilliant, highly charged opener, and the album never looks back from there, bringing in shades of M83, Depeche Mode and Passion Pit – which all ties in with main man Jonathan Bates's musical past. The two tracks already unleashed as singles on a grateful audience, 'Capsize' ...

'Tranklements' is apparently a Sheffield word that means 'a collection of objects, often precious to the owner' – and it's safe to assume the 16 objects making up this particular collection will become precious to their owners in time. The Black Dog are well versed in albums of course – this is their twelfth, after all – and it shows, with an ebb and flow that works well between the close knit, slower tracks and the ones that break loose towards the dancefloor. These quicker tracks include the i...

Few voices, Western or otherwise, have the range of expression and natural instinct that Rokia Traoré does – and here she returns to a slightly more Western way of thinking with the inclusion of producer John Parish. The title track is striking, not just because she sings in English, but because it comes from the very heart of her home continent. It is symbolic of the intense motion felt throughout the album, whether in the gentle breeze of ‘Ka Moun Ke’ or the lighter instrumental arrangements o...

If you excuse the frankly dubious name and album title, Pearl Necklace are well worth investigating, because they make the kind of slower, leftfield beats that Norwegians are so good at. A key part of this is the guest slots of Arp, who crops up on the loping, slow disco of ‘Did You Feel It’. Meanwhile the woozy, unfocused sounds in Why Toto? work nicely, as does the shimmering ‘Wist’. Sometimes a bit more pace would be welcome, and ‘Don’t’ feels like it creaks along rather, but overall this is ...

This is an irresistible package from the Portico Quartet, offering two albums in effect – a live set that catches the band on tour last year, and a set of remixes that serves to illustrate just how malleable their music is. The live album is definitely best heard in one go, and shows how strong and cohesive the band are. The style is elusive, so best perhaps just to call it ‘leftfield’ and say that fans of Four Tet and all things Warp and Ninja would definitely find something to tickle their fan...

For someone who needs little introduction this compilation sure makes a loud noise. As if it wasn’t enough to help define the sound of House Music in the nineties MK now pushes forward with his excellent selection for Defected’s In The House series. Its taken almost twenty years for some of these sounds to come back into fashion, which just goes to prove it was all good in the first place! and is perhaps best typified by the opening number from MK himself featuring Alana ‘Love Changes' with its ...

A welcome collection from a man whose house credentials are already formidable. Daniel Dexter gets just the right blend of deepness and energy to his music, making sure that he also has hooks aplenty in the locker. This is effectively a compilation of his work over the last couple of years, and its best moments – ‘Sirens’ and ‘Why So Serious’, for instance – show he has the knack of pacing a track perfectly. Also included here are two of his best remixes, for Zombie Disco Squad (‘Righteous Sound...

Brandt Brauer Frick have built their reputation still further since the excellent second album ‘Mr Machine’, establishing themselves as a must-see live band. If you have seen them live recently you’ll have heard a fair bit of the music to Miami, and you’ll know they are gradually working more vocalists in to the mix. The Miami Theme itself is a brooding affair, with piercing bass from a really low tuba, and tense vocal interjections. It stays slow the whole way through despite threatening to bre...

Martin Wheeler makes a very welcome return with this long player, recorded entirely using just an iPhone equipped with Blip Interactive’s ‘Nanostudio’ app and a pair of headphones. You wouldn’t know from the final results though, for he manages to use a kaleidoscopic breadth of sounds, delivered with the clarity that we’ve become accustomed to from this source. The tracks are typically well constructed, with intricate melodies that complement each other well. Within this framework, ‘Clandestine’...

Internationally, Bonobo is now well and truly massive, one of Ninja Tune’s biggest acts – and ‘The North Borders’ is only likely to extend that appeal, with a sound that occupies more centre ground than ‘Black Sands’. Simon Green brings his customary expertise to the string arrangements, and has carefully chosen his vocalists to complement the slightly downbeat mood. Grey Reverend is excellent in the opener ‘’, while Erykah Badu’s wonderfully sonorous lower register is a treat to listen to on ‘’...

He's not from Deptford, and he's not a goth – but Daniel Woolhouse has made an album of real beauty to kick off what ought to be a fruitful career. Woolhouse taps in to the same sort of place that James Blake and SBTRKT do – the classic bedroom / laptop combination – but his is a different approach, with songs of emotional tenderness often played out against widescreen productions, with more emphasis on the treble than the bass. With some aching harmonic shifts, ‘Guts No Glory' and ‘Feel Real' a...

'Bla Bla Bla' is Martin Brodin's take on the roots of disco and dance music – and it sounds like he had a great time making it. He's certainly gone heavy on the 80s influences, and we get the riff of InXS' 'Need You Tonight' attached a bit clumsily to 'Oh Yeah', but he gets away with it through a combination of good grooves and a sense of fun. While largely house-based, there is always a swing to his rhythms, and a refusal to make things too straight laced. 'Don't Stop The Music' fits his bluepr...

It's almost become complacent to expect great things from Autechre, but here they are delivering once again, with an album that clocks in at a more than weighty two hours – but still manages to be inventive at the end of it. 'Exai' manages that balancing act by moving between ambient thoughts and much more active passages, some of which might put the listener in mind of late 1980s house chord sequences. There are some truly odd sounds, too, which could only be achieved by the duo – and these inc...

You'll have to bear with me while I explain the concept behind Matmos' first album in five years. The Baltimore duo conducted a series of parapsychological experiments to get to some of the sounds and samples that they use here – which to you and me is trying to influence the outcome of their album by using mind control. There are some fascinating results, and some really funny ones too – and the styles of music range from blissed out to full on death metal, with loads in between. The two clearl...