May Album Roundup

May Album Roundup

1 June, 2010 | 2.12AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: album roundup

Every month, dozens of great albums get released on Beatport, but they can often get lost in the shuffle of tracks and EPs. We single out some of our favorites for the Album of the Week, but that barely scratches the surface.

To help you keep up with the best in Beatport’s catalog, here’s a roundup of some of the key full-lengths that came out in May, including albums from Booka Shade, Flying Lotus, Glimpse, Guido, and more.

Actress, ‘Splazsh’ [Honest Jon’s]

Leftfield electronica’s man of the moment delivers a smashing album to Honest Jon’s, mixing up hip-hop, house, electro, and dubstep into a vibrant collection of next-level psychedelia.

Xenia Beliayeva, ‘Ever Since’ [Shitkatapult]

Grinding electro-techno and Siouxsie-like vocals make Xenia Beliayeva’s new album for Shitkatapult a no-brainer for closet Goths everywhere.

Booka Shade, ‘More’ [Booka Shade/Get Physical]

Booka Shade’s fourth album returns to the dancefloor without relinquishing its pop chops.

Elektro Guzzi, ‘Elektro Guzzi’ [Macro]

Finn Johannssen and Stefan Goldmann’s Macro label introduce the world to Elektro Guzzi, a bass/drums/guitar three-piece that sounds like they have metronomes in their pacemakers—and space antennas sprouting from their ears.

Ellen Allien, ‘Dust’ [Bpitch Control]

Head Bpitch Ellen Allien partners with Tobias Freund to record a nuanced collection of minimalist club cuts and lush avant-pop.

Flying Lotus, ‘Cosmogramma’ [Warp]

Los Angeles’ Flying Lotus moves way beyond hip-hop and dubstep, turning ‘Cosmogramma’ into an epic slab of astral jazz.

Glimpse, ‘Runner’ [Crosstown Rebels]

The prolific British producer Glimpse digs into deep house and disco on this versatile and satisfying album, offering a cut for just about every hour of the night.

Guido, ‘Anidea’ [Punch Drunk]

Purple-veined dubstep and wonky hip-hop are the order of the day on the debut album from the rising Bristol producer Guido.

Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts, ‘Breaking the Wall’ [Circus Company]

Guillaume’s second album is an even richer mélange of deep, percussive house, acoustic instrumentation and carefully re-composed samples of soul and world music. For DJs, there’s also a set of extended mixes.

Jamie Lidell, ‘Compass’ [Warp]

With a little help from Beck, Jamie Lidell turns his postmodern brand of soul into his most unconventional record yet—and possibly his most satisfying.

Martinez, ‘The Paradigm Shift’ [Moon Harbour]

Martinez conjures sensual, mysterious vibes on this two-part album of percussion-heavy house.

Technasia, ‘Central’ [Technasia]

The French techno legend is back with his first album in four years, and it’s a monster. Deep, chord-oriented Detroit techno sets the tone, with elements of old-school acid house and early ‘90s trance rounding it out (and pulling you in).

The Black Dog, ‘Music for Real Airports’ [Soma]

Designed as a polemical response to Brian Eno’s ‘Music for Airports’, this ambient longplayer taps the dread lurking beneath social order and technological progress.

Tiefschwarz, ‘Chocolate’ [Souvenir]

Ali and Basti Schwarz, plus new co-producer Sante, deliver muscular, masterfully restrained house and techno fleshed out with acoustic timbres and a few killer curveballs.

Trentemoller, ‘Into the Great Wide Yonder’ [In My Room]

Anders Trentemoller’s first album in four years breaks with his minimalist tech-house roots to delve into soundtrack-ready ambient, blazing rock ‘n’ roll, and cavernous Americana in the tradition of Mazzy Star.

UNKLE, ‘Where Did the Night Go’ [Surrender All]

James Lavelle returns with another album of brooding, electronic-influenced modern rock; check the Deluxe Edition for instrumentals.

Various, ‘Chris Liebing Presents 10 Years CLR’ [CLR]

Chris Liebing celebrates 10 years of his CLR label with this collection of essential techno classics from Adam Beyer, Speedy J, Function and Jerome Sydenham, plus exclusive cuts from Tommy Four Seven and Markus Sprengler and Liebing, and Liebing’s own album-length mix.

Von Spar, ‘Foreigner’ [Italic]

The Cologne/Berlin collective Von Spar channel new wave and postpunk on this goth-tinged update of moody Italo-disco and Krautrock impressions.

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