Dust Science Vinyl & CDs

Review: Experimental electronic triad The Black Dog see their 2009 CD album remastered and reissued, a missive from a time when the band were particularly concerned with the encroachment of surveillance capital and Orwellian practices carried out by institutions, governments and corporations. Tackling the cynical ironies of weaponised phraseologies such as "for your own safety", and their use by firms whom almost certainly do not have our best interests at heart, the mood of this techno tucker is indeed certainly, if not paranoid, vexed. Emblematic of this are humanity reductions such as 'You're Only SQL', on which gurgly basses churn, and 'CCTV Nation', which bridges Dispatches-style documentary melodies and jittery acid house.

Review: Way back in 2006, when for various reasons they were suffering with insomnia, the Black Dog began making music when sleep deprived - a process the Sheffield trio say made their material more emotive and vulnerable. At various times since, they've returned to the idea, resulting in this album - a collection of immersive musical movements that frequently blur the boundaries between the enveloping ambience the IDM pioneers have become famous for in recent years, and (synth) string-laden neo-classical compositions. Of course, it's not all picturesque sonic beauty, with the paranoia and slow-thinking darkness sometimes associated with periods of sleep deprivation being translated into trippy, melancholic or sonically intense soundscapes rooted in drone and dark ambient. Throughout, it remains surprisingly emotive and - for the most part - pleasingly meditative.