Martyn – The Air Between Words

Martyn's debut album Great Lengths was a standout in the first wave of post-dubstep. 2011's Ghost People, on Brainfeeder, was more restless and experimental, with fewer tracks pitched directly at the dancefloor, although in the intervening time he's been no slouch at producing solid cuts on 12"s and EPs for other labels. Now firmly ensconced in the Ninja Tune family, he returns with the deliciously analogue, sculptured minimalism of The Air Between Words.

Early track Glassbeadgames, with Four Tet, strips back UK Garage to its atmospheric bones; Empty Mind luxuriates in a sub-acid riff and pulsing electro beat; while the filtered, jazzy house of Drones harks back to earlier Ninja Tune artists. Love of Pleasure, with vocals from Hype Williams' Inga Copeland, is a standout; a hazy, emotive slice of deconstructed broken beat. The rest of the record stands up, with excursions into filtered analogue techno and drifting, spectral house. Elegant and beautifully realised. [Bram E. Gieben]