Electronic
Do It Again by Röyksopp and Robyn
Do It Again
Röyksopp, Robyn
2014
Hey, somebody got their chocolate in my peanut butter! As a fan of their prior collaboration in “The Girl and the Robot," hearing them together again really showcases how strong they sound together. This collaboration limits both acts tendency to produce navel-gaze tracks and more confidently express the best parts of themselves. I can only hope they meet up in this way again.
Recommended Track: Do It Again
Hallucinating Love by Maribou State
Hallucinating Love
Maribou State
2005
I bask in the heartfelt joy radiating from this album. It is a sunset walk through the neighborhood, cars and pedestrians zipping by, as you enjoy the sun playing off of the trees as you walk under them. As its moods swing from shuffling dance rhythms to slower introspections, the vibe insists that everything is gonna be alright.
Recommended Track: Otherside
EUSEXUA by FKA twigs
EUSEXUA
FKA twigs
2025
Apparently conceived during her exploration of Prague’s nightclubs, Twigs has created an album that is creative and fresh. The production work is where this album really soars, reaching back farther than her contemporaries for pop and electronic influences and weaving each track into surprisingly different directions. The best compliment I can give this album is that, whenever I dip back in to listen to a track, I always end up listening to the whole album from wherever I started.
Recommended Track: Girl Feels Good
Flying Away by Smoke City
Flying Away
Smoke City
1997
I somehow missed this excellent bossa-nova and trip-hop mashup that was released when I was graduating high school. This album is a classic for many great reasons and listening I can hear the origin of many other bands. I’m sad that it’s only one of two they released before disbanding.
Recommended Track: Jamie Pan
Now More Than Ever by Logistics
Now More Than Ever
Logistics
2006
Like his contemporaries High Contrast and London Electricity, Logistics helped evolve the drum and bass scene out of an era of technical exercises by adding melody and playfulness to the sound. With 24 tracks spread across two albums, they can’t all be bangers. However, when his tracks do hit, they sure are enjoyable!
Recommended Track: Winter Blues
One Second by Yello
One Second (Remastered 2005)
Yello
1987
Less wandering than their previous albums, this is where Yello truly found their focus and created a masterpiece. Entirely separate bands can trace their sounds to individual tracks from this album. (For example: KMFDM and the track Si Señor The Hairy Grill)
Recommended Track: Hawaiian Chance
Six Wheels On My Wagon by Fluke
Six Wheels On My Wagon
Fluke
1993
In a similar way to contemporaries like Orbital and Underworld, Fluke made albums that were designed to be listened to in full. Sure, some tracks were pulled out for singles but the melodic flow of the entire album is where the real joy in listening can be found.
Recommended Track: Groovy Feeling
Up in the Air by Bent
Up in the Air
Bent
2020
Discovering Bent had released a new album in 2020 was like finding a favorite snack that I didn’t think anyone was making anymore. I’m just as in love with it as I am with their previous albums. Their lush production connects with something deep inside my brain and makes me feel like I’m being welcomed into a fantastical world that I never want to leave. I think I’ll just hit repeat.
Recommended Track: When You Come By
For That Beautiful Feeling by The Chemical Brothers
For That Beautiful Feeling
The Chemical Brothers
2023
I had all but given up on The Chemical Brothers after my disappointment with Born In The Echoes but this album finally feels like one of my favorite bands found their voices again. I especially love how the brothers managed to find new sounds without resorting to a collaboration album. It is a swirling escape that I want to ride until its crescendo ending.
Recommended Track: The Darkness That You Fear
one-room survival by Serani Poji
one-room survival
Serani Poji
2002
I’m always up to hear some Shibuya-kei. This album (trans. One-Room Survival) came as a recommendation from my daughter which shows how well she knows me. It’s hard to have a bad day with such happy music.
Recommended Track: ラブレイバー / LOVELABOR
Blue Rev by Alvvays
Blue Rev
Alvvays
2002
This album is like My Bloody Valentine and The Smiths found a new lead singer and released a compilation album together. It’s exciting to find new artists still playing with shoegaze because it’s a genre I feel deserving of more exploration.
Recommended Track: Pressed
DSVII by M83
DSVII
M83
2019
I think of this album as M83 providing the soundtrack to one of my Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. An instrumental album filled with both grand, exploratory wonder and intensely intimate moments. Similar to the music of Mort Garson, M83 wants his synths to move you beyond nostalgia.
Recommended Track: Feelings
Second Toughest In The Infants by Underworld
Second Toughest In The Infants
Underworld
1996
When machines are in motion, they emit all kinds of clicks, whirrs, and whistle noises. Underworld’s music sounds like those noises but for human thought. You’ve probably heard the big hits from this album but I invite you to hear them in context with their surrounding tracks.
Recommended Track: Cherry Pie
Black Halo by Hybrid
Black Halo
Hybrid
2021
I enjoy pretty much every Hybrid album and this one is no exception. Their albums are soundtracks, even when they don’t actually have a media property attached, full of epic soundscapes for me to imagine my own plots. (I’m someone who ignores lyrics as much as possible.)
Track recommendation: Seven Days
Hearts by Blackbird Blackbird
Hearts
Blackbird Blackbird
2019
Soft 90’s synths and the courage to mix instrumental and vocal tracks into the same album. It has become a chill and happy weekend companion for me.
Track recommendation: Hearts
Puppy by Fluke
Puppy
Fluke
2003
This album picks me up, takes me into light speed, and never lets me fall. Its smooth beats continually slipping the listener across space and time.
Track recommendation: Another Kind of Blues
Past Is Prologue by Tycho
Past Is Prologue
Tycho
2006
Tycho is the sound of a relaxing weekend; of golden sunlight shining through the windows with an accompanying cool breeze. This is focus music that I don’t ignore.
Track recommendation: Send and Receive
The Pool by Jazzanova
The Pool
Jazzanova
2018
Sampling, hybrid grooves, guest singers, etc. This is one of those bands that I can’t believe I’ve never heard until now. Thankfully, that means I have their whole back catalog to dive into and this album was a great start.
Track recommendation: Everything I Wanted
Solid State Logik 1 by The KLF
Solid State Logik 1
The KLF
1991
This is the closest version to the original 1991 release, “The White Room” that you can find on streaming. I remember buying it for my best friend’s birthday that year and we listened to it over many hours of Street Fighter II. I was far too young at the time to know of or understand any of the band’s self-hating shenanigans and took their music at face value. I’m all the better for it because several of their tracks were instrumental in getting me further into the new electronic sounds coming from England.
Track recommendation: 3AM Eternal
Goodbye by Ulrich Schnauss
Goodbye
Ulrich Schnauss
2020
There are feelings and emotions rooted in the deeper, darker heart of ourselves that can only be touched by diving below our surface. Music is a frequent guide to accessing this unexplored territory and helping us explore what we don’t have words to express. This album has become one such guide for me.
Track recommendation: Stars