Electronic Reviews
26 Electronic records in the Certified Archive. Every one of them earned five rainbow thumbs-up, because we only publish reviews of records we think are great — so treat this page as a listening list rather than a ranking. Newest first.
Semiratruth's 'S!M' Is a Gleeful, Booby-Trapped Masterclass in Taking Dance Music Apart
Twenty-two tracks from the Brooklyn-based, Chicago-born producer Semira Truth Garrett, out on Sooper Records, written produced arranged and mixed alone. Bandcamp Daily made it Album of the Day and called it a sharp and stunning deconstruction of dance music. They are not overselling it.
SUAHN's 'Distort Everything Forever' Is a Ferocious, Freeing Debut of Hardware Bass Music
Michael York — Baltimore multi-instrumentalist and former guitarist for Pianos Become The Teeth — spent six years building his debut LP out of analog hardware and found sound. Bandcamp Daily made it Album of the Day and ended the review with three words: this music sounds like freedom.
Actress' 'Radical Frame' Is a Patient, Corroded Masterclass in Electronic Space
Darren J. Cunningham returns to Ninja Tune with eight tracks, thirty-eight minutes, and a sixteen-minute closer that eats nearly half the record. DJ Mag stamped it 'Masterpiece'; Clash gave it 8/10 and called it Actress at his most essential.
Sylvan Esso's 'Ow ∞' Is a Gleeful, Percussion-Drunk Record About Hurting
Twelve songs written across four years in the woods outside Chapel Hill, out on the duo's own Psychic Hotline. Six different drummers, including Glenn Kotche, Joe Westerlund, Jenn Wasner and Jake Luppen. Paste says it 'brims with delight' while looking straight at pain and mortality.
ODAE's 'MOIREMOIREMOIRE' Is a Gleefully Unstable Masterpiece of Sound Design
Fifteen tracks from Ruairi O'Brien, the Texas multi-instrumentalist who has quietly produced three separate Bandcamp Albums of the Day for other people. This is the one under his own name, and Bandcamp Daily calls it 'the best kind of puzzle box.'
Pretty Sick's 'Anarchy' Is a Woozy, Fearless Masterpiece of Texture
Sabrina Fuentes's second Pretty Sick album for Dirty Hit, produced mostly by Oscar Scheller. She put the fuzz pedals down and rebuilt the whole band out of synths, club kicks and distortion. Clash gave it 8/10.
Ibibio Sound Machine's 'Chopping Mountain' Is a Joyous Masterpiece of Studio-Jam Discipline
The London collective's sixth album, out on Merge. Saxophonist and co-founder Max Grunhard produces for the first time since 2019's Doko Mien, the band cut it at their own Vanguard Studios, and every track started life as a jam.
Cyst's Debut Is a Gleefully Grotty Masterpiece of Glitchcore Worldbuilding
The debut from Cyst, a new duo of UK producers Iglooghost and daisy* (fka BABii), out on LuckyMe. Nine tracks of jungle rhythms, two-step and hyperpop. Bandcamp Daily's Joe Muggs made it Album of the Day and said the absurdist genius will charm you even if the beats don't.
Immersion's 'What Is Lost Will Return' Is a Buoyant Masterpiece of Post-Genre Optimism
Colin Newman of Wire and Malka Spigel of Minimal Compact, out on their own swim ~ label — eight tracks, five songs and three instrumentals, with Matt Schulz of Holy Fuck on drums. Bandcamp Daily made it an Essential Release and called it the sound of an icon adapting with grace.
RAP's 'Navigator' Is a Subterranean Beauty of After-Hours Electronics
The fourth full-length from the UK duo of Guy Gormley and Thomas Bush is exactly the kind of record you're supposed to fall for after too many hours down the internet — twelve tracks of blurred, subterranean club music that reward the trawl. Jolly Discs put it out and Bandcamp Daily called it Album of the Day the next day.
Cloud Canyons Stretch 70 Minutes Into a Single, Hypnotic Held Breath
An Italian quartet's second full-length is a 70-minute trance state built from analogue synths, mantra-like layered vocals, and a patience most electronic records twice as short don't have. Deep-catalog Bandcamp obscurity that deserves way more ears.
Siavash Amini and Eugene Thacker Dissolve Language Into Pure Sound on Songs for Sad Poets Vol. III
Tehran-based composer Siavash Amini and Brooklyn theorist-writer Eugene Thacker dedicate three sprawling pieces to three 'cursed poets,' layering up to forty voices until words dissolve into pure texture. Bandcamp Daily called it seriously forward-looking, and they're right.
Overmono Trade the Club Banger for the Comedown on 'Pure Devotion'
The Russell brothers go warmer and more analogue on their XL sophomore record, building songs for the comedown instead of the peak. Less about the drop, more about what's left after it.
Ela Minus & Nick León Turn Grief Into a Dancefloor on 'qué les pasó a mis amigos?'
Two of electronic music's sharpest minds process artistic burnout through minimal club music that's as intimate as it is danceable. A short EP that leaves a long mark.
MANAPOOL's 'Tower Trance: Yggdra' Is a Portal to a Video Game That Never Existed
The first installment in a planned episodic trance series for the tiny Tabula Rasa Record Company, MANAPOOL's new EP blends Y2K-era trance, jungle, breakbeat, hardcore techno, and video-game soundfonts into what the artist calls 'romantic hardcore.' Bandcamp Daily compared it to a Kingdom Hearts score.
Mohamed Bourouissa's 'LILA' Turns a Visual Artist's Decade of Sound Into a Haunting Debut
The French photographer and visual artist's debut solo album, out on PAN, spends twelve tracks treating relationships as emotional landscapes rather than portraits. A Closer Listen called the title track 'one of Bourouissa's most affecting moments.'
Nia Archives' 'Emotional Junglist' is a Boundless, Untethered Second Album
The jungle revivalist's self-produced follow-up to 'Silence Is Loud' fuses breakbeats with indie-pop songwriting, guest turns from Sampha and Jorja Smith, and a title that doubles as a mission statement. DIY called it a four-star evolution.
Ferries' 'Eye Wander' is a Hypnotic Wonder of Anonymous Dub-Psych
Nobody knows who Ferries are, and it doesn't matter. Ten tracks of cavernous dub space, kraut repetition, and dreamy trebly vocals on World of Echo. The Quietus made it Album of the Week. So do we.
Violet Cowboy's 'Ramraid at the Wiggly Worm' is a Shape-Shifting Gem of Electronic Storytelling
Brighton's Stephen Maskell splices spaghetti-western twang, elastic dub, and classical minimalism into a macabre little travelogue. Kit Records strikes again. Weirdest great record of the month.
Auscultation's 'IV' is a Fog-Bound Masterpiece of Dub-Wise Ambient Techno
Joel Shanahan turns long Pacific Northwest winters into iridescent, dub-soaked techno. Icy bangers and hushed reverie in equal measure. Isolation has rarely sounded this beautiful.
Ibeyi Turn Rhythm Into Ritual on Offering
The French-Cuban twin duo weave electronic production and global rhythmic traditions into something that feels both ancient and brand new. Harmony-rich vocals, rhythmic depth for days.
Loraine James Hits With Monstrous Impact on Detached From The Rest of You
Intricate electronic production elevated by excellent vocal features, Tirzah among them. When 'Ending Us All' unleashes its writhing percussion and shearing synths, the impact is genuinely monstrous.
Avalon Emerson & The Charm Swirl Decades Together on Written into Changes
Eighties gothtronica, Bristol pop, and Nineties alt-rock woven into one seamless texture palette. Whimsy powers the swirly production, and the eclecticism spans the globe.
Kim Petras Takes the Best Detour of Her Career
Aughts pop worship colliding with deconstructed club noise and hardstyle techno. High-vis hedonism, maximum commitment, and her best album yet.
underscores Goes Full Pop Star on U — And It Rules
A lean, glossy bid for pop stardom that ditches the proggy concept-album scaffolding and just delivers bangers. Sparkles like a classic late-2000s pop record while keeping the post-genre chaos on a leash — barely.
Slayyyter Levels Up Hard on WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA
Bloghouse, dance-punk, and electroclash synthesized into a cohesive 'dirtbag Americana' that goes impossibly hard. A major level-up with basslines that punch like it's 2007 in the best way.