XLR8R (US)

Taylor Deupree’s minimal electronic imprint 12k is late to the guitar ‘n’ DSP game, but the artists here gamely mkae up for lost time. As with all 12k releases, microscopic subtlety and brainy design reign. Japanese duo Fonica forges chime-bient Frippertronic vistas of delicate beauty; Keith Fullerton Whitman (Hrvatski) unveils some tricks he learned from 20th century masters like Mimaroglu, Subotnik and Dockstader, with equilibrium-disturbing results; Frenchman Sébastien Roux creates spindly, meditative études that sound like Oval jamming with Loren Connors; and San Francisco’s Christopher Willits envisions how indie rock should sound now, with tonally vibrant, whimsically tuneful songs that resonate emotionally and mesmerize like Steve Reich. – Dave Segal