Back catalogue: Balearic/Downtempo

Review: Sam Eastgate might have made his name via Late of the Pier, but he proved solo abilities and then some with 'Inju', his own debut. He's now back with 'GENE', which sees him take individuality to greater heights by way of inventing, creating and playing his own unique instrument, which lends its name to the album. Throwing guitar licks, soft pads and compressed keys into the mix, the result is a psychedelic electronic explosion of colour and texture, along the lines of Neon Indian. Low slung glitch and piercing falsetto vocals build into a delicate but definite funk grooves, 'Open My Eyes' has an almost operatic quality to its chorus, underpinned with a techno-esque growling low end, and 'Rubber Sky' could almost be another David Byrne and X-Press 2 collaboration. Strutting, sparkling, rolling and crunching its way through three acts of innocence increasingly lost, this is electronic pop at its most impressive.