®adår - All Things Bittersweet (2020)

"The title says it all. The Aphex Twin-indebted world of IDM and braindance is often presented as lacking emotion, instead emphasizing a combination of hyper-cerebral detail and puerile humour. But often, for all its awkwardness, the music does contain powerful feeling, and this 11-track album by Xephem records founder, Joel Birkett is, indeed, bittersweet. Funny, burbling sounds play haunting minor melodies; the spikiness of bitcrunched jungle rhythms communicate pain and excitement alike, and the slow drift of “Droids at Sunset” is one of the saddest things you’ll hear this month."

- Joe Muggs