Comic Sans France Vinilo y CD

Review: Fresh from a fine outing on Bahnsteig23 under the alternative Cassiard DJ alias, Thomas Cassiard dons the C.R.K alias for an expansive outing on Comic Sans. There's a surprisingly symphonic feel to opener "Sad React Only Plz", which flits from a deep space ambient number to a shuffling IDM wriggler midway through, but there's more forthright fare to be found elsewhere across the EP. Check, for example, the off-kilter drums and sparkling melodies of "100g De Balls" and the intergalactic jungle-techno revivalism of "Plus Loin Que La Police". Arguably the EP's greatest moment, though, is closer "Les Etoiles Sont Plus Hautes Que La Ciel", where elongated chords, bubbly beats and tumbling melodies combine to create a poignant and melancholic mood.

Review: This Cool Underground Music label (which came first, the name or the amusingly childish category naming system?) hails from Vancouver and welcomes Lazy Deejay for a techno outing that ends up in the stars. The Self Titled EP explores a number of different niches, with 'Conga' pairing deft broken beats with wispy pads and sustained chords while 'Peyote Dub' is more prickly techno with a passed bassline and gentle piano keys draped over the top. 'Fastrack' is a superb closer that brings dusty jungle drumming and heart-melting vocal soul samples. Deep, rolling, atmospheric, what's not to like?

Review: Comic Sans' latest intriguing release is a debut EP from French post-IDM producer XL IKS (real name Jean-Baptise Arthus), an artist whose distinctively fuzzy, lo-fi and off-kilter sound is described by the label as "corrosive but sentimental". That's actually a rather shrewd and perceptive description. The five tracks on show are largely built around redlined drums of the kind regularly featured in early Autechre records. These come clothed in a variety of yearning, occasionally playful electronic melodies, saturated electronic textures and effects-laden sounds. It's an unusual but undeniably attractive mixture, with Arthus's occasional fractured ambient interludes only adding to the otherworldly, mind-altering fun.