John Roberts - Plum (2016)

The career of Cleveland's John Roberts has certainly gone from strength to strength since his incredible debut album Glass Eights on Dial back in 2010. Since then, 2013's Fences LP delved deeper into the exotic and abstract as did the Orah and Six EPs on his newly inaugurated Brunette Editions imprint. His first full length offering for the new label, the Plum LP continues on with Roberts' fascination with stunning percussion styles, oriental aesthetics and inventive use of sampling. All the tracks are quite short, lasting on average about three minutes, but have just the right amount of impact. There's a diverse range of moods on offer; from the 80's Japanese action film vibe of "Glue", the woozy steel drums workout on "Dye Tones" to the dusty Balearica of "Gum". It's all quite brilliant really.