Son Lux - At war with walls and mazes

This release is another step Anticon has taken to redefine their remit as a 'hip hop' label. The beats still lope along as they should, but the music structured around them is far from B-boy territory. Tracks are based around minor key piano, fluttering orchestral samples and cold electronics. Break is a sparse funeral piece that barely acknowledges any percussion past the first minute, and on top of this, there's something very disarming about Ryan Lott's vocals: he could be singing the phone book and it'd sound pained. But it's the final trio of tracks that truly shine and leave the lasting impression: Stand is a heart-breaking operatic maelstrom, War is all itchy strings and warm bass synths and Epilogue is an anthem built on slow arpeggios. This album's a slow burner that'll take a few repeated plays to really hatch, but it's another in a long line of truly innovative records from a rare gem of a label. [Matt Gollock]