Bryce Hackford - Behind (2015)

The work of Brooklyn-based Bryce Hackford as always been tricky to accurately pigeonhole, sitting as it does somewhere between classic ambient, drone, skewed electronica, experimental deep house and woozy, left-of-centre synth-pop. As frustrating as this is for critics, it invariably makes his albums pleasingly listenable. That's definitely the case with Behind, his third full-length in as many years. Impeccably atmospheric, analogue rich, wearily melodious and, on occasions, hypnotically drowsy, it pleasingly drifts between curious vocal numbers, slowly pulsing instrumentals, beatless odysseys and tactile, saucer-eyed bliss. While still fearlessly experimental in outlook, it's also his most accessible and well-rounded collection to date.