F Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Brighton based producer Richard Smith aka L/F/D/M who first emerged in 2013, inaugurating the Optimo Trax series with the Purple Maps EP before going on to release two EP's of hardware-driven atonal techno on Powell's Diagonal Records makes his bow on Cititrax "Dream Bleeds". Overflowing with body jerking industrial, raw acid/techno, the album hints of the warehouse sound of the late '90s and the caustic spirit of EBM. From opener "Cru" to "One Terminal", the eight tracks thread together; each starting point completely open, each new step informed by the last, shaped by emotion, inspiration and time.

Review: Richard Smith, AKA L/F/D/M, made his debut on Optimo Trax in 2013, with an EP bristling with analogue acid and robust machine jams. Last year's follow-up for Clan Destine Records, LHF 3, was similarly minded. This debut album switches things around a little, supplementing his usual hard-wired, hypnotic rhythms, motorik attitude and hazy melodies with a gaggle of more experimental cuts (see the freaky ambience of "New X" and new wave-era shuffle of "Book of Five"). It's not a dramatic stylistic leap, of course, but one that makes perfect sense.