Jamie Vex'd - In System Travel EP

Opener "In System Travel" sounds like a queasy, spazzed-out afterthought to the aforementioned rework, similarly loose and spiralling, but a good deal calmer too, alluding as much to the jazzy ruminations of trip-hop stalwart Amon Tobin as to labelmate Boxcutter's synapse-melting neo-junglisms. Over on the flip, "Saturn's Reply" comes off like a bastardized, funk-fuelled take on the whole electro/glitch-hop crossover school, pitching fat splodges of '80s analogue bass against a jerky array of spliced breaks and fuzzy, day-glo synths. For a debut solo outing, it's frighteningly confident stuff.
But the real treat here is "Radiant Industry." A colossal piece of bass engineering guaranteed to slaughter even the nastiest of house parties (never mind suitably well-rigged nightclubs), it must surely rank as 2009's fattest (read: phattest) tune so far.

Tim Exile - Family Galaxy

"Family Galaxy" starts of in glitchy hip-hop territory, skipping reverse drum beats give way to rising chord progressions over which Exile sings about his journeys through the family galaxy, an ever-changing environment of uncertainty that nonetheless sounds welcoming. The track's structure adheres to the principles of the family galaxy which Exile outlines thusly, "Keep changing every day, don't stay the same or you'll be a fool." As the track goes on, the tempo is slowly turned up from lazy glitch-hop stylings to a techno-sounding four to the floor beat only to explode into frenzied breakbeat territory.

"I Don't Know Where I'm Going" is a wholly different type of journey. It's set off by looming but beautiful synths, which eventually crash into abrasive techno territory around the three-minute mark. Raspy metallic sounding riffs then roll along with the clunky beat while Exile repeatedly tells us that he doesn't know where he's going and that he doesn't care. As a listener one gives in to Exile's views and goes on his musical trip without knowing where it might lead you—even if that means paranoia-inducing techno funk or the mechanic drone of Exile's time-stretching and twisting his own voice.

Spatial - Infra002 EP

Arriving in the least ubiquitous fashion possible and delivered with a little mystery thrown in for good measure is the latest 10-inch slice of garage-flecked, Detroit techno-suckling dubstep from the facially ambiguous producer, Spatial. Christening his productions with numerical monikers such as "90121" or "90113" may seem like another way to alienate anyone who isn't searching specifically for his work but, by not naming them after lost loves or some other nonsense your left with one thing to judge: the music.

Rustie - Bad Science EP

"Bad Science" might be the erratic, unpredictably glitchy dance floor stalker on here, quaking faces when its arpeggiated backbone comes reeling in from the left side of nowhere but "Tar" rings out like "Tempered"—Rustie's Southern hip-hop jam found on the flip to his Joker collabo—all deep 808 kicks interspersed with heavily phased and cleverly EQed percussion. Going heavy on the kick drum, he patterns his jagged bass riff around the end of each bar throwing in the odd "coin in" and "1UP" Nintendo sound effects before stretching out the scales with a taut synthesizer. "Shadow Enter" takes the computer game idea and runs with it, making the dripping sound effects of classic hacker film The Net's soundtrack bubble over his primitive bass work and human beatbox percussion.

The other tracks included here are versions of Rustie's "Zig Zag" release. A "reprise" sees Rustie take the seemingly endless winding synth spine of the track and underpinning it with huge booming kick drums. That unimaginative rework, however, is redeemed via Heinrich Mueller's "Gravitaional Equilibrium"take. One of Rustie's heavily Kraftwerk-influenced idols, Mueller adds a smattering of 303 and shimmers out a few other melodies in an effort reminiscent of Neil Landstrumm's latest output.

Untold - Sweat / Dante

A-side "Sweat" sees buoyant, elasticized stabs of bass, pegged down by a tight 2-step shuffle, ripple jubilantly amidst a sprawl of vaporous Rolando-esque atmospherics. Gone are the jittery, semi-schizoid mannerisms of previous works, replaced by an altogether breezier set of dynamics that signal a shift towards sunnier climes. Notably, the painful introversion characteristic of so much recent UKG-flavoured dubstep is conspicuous in its absence. It comes as a welcome change.

"Dante" takes things further into Detroit-inspired territory, sounding not unlike Delano Smith given a UK underground makeover. Built around a brittle kick/rimshot play-off, warm subs and molten chords bubble incandescently in the background, seemingly unfazed by the clattering percussion and happy to pause here and there for breath. Dreamy female vocals only add to the carefree ambience. Much like the A-side, it's a quietly confident piece, imbued with a healthy sense of perspective and in no great hurry to impress anyone. As such, it's just marvellous.