Another year, another universally brilliant various artists release from the Spectral camp. Label poster boy Matthew Dear kicks things off in his Audion guise with the 12-minute “I Gave You Away.” It’s a big, groovy, building-block epic in the mould of last year’s breakout hit “Mouth To Mouth,” laced through with a winding, distorted key riff in place of “Mouth”’s jumbo jet noises. Not as immediately satisfying (or memorable), but hey, it swings like hell and will mix with just about anything, so who’s complaining? Plus, when the rhythm really starts to kick at about the four-minute mark, chills are a-plenty.

The flipside features the wonderful “Casio” by Spectral rookie Pär Grindvik, a funky minimal workout in the DBX vein, complete with cut-up vocal snip. Finally, we get Bodycode, following up his 2006 full-length for the label with “Exciting Ride,” a shimmering filter-freq-out that would be far better off without the cliched diva vocal track and otherwise is a bit flat. Even the dramatic drop-out halfway through isn’t a big thrill, though it should be on paper. You’ll buy this for the Audion (and you should), but those who don’t peep the Grindvik cut are missing the boat.

Spectral Sound / SPC-40
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[Todd Hutlock]