Ninja Tune US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Years after his debut and a string of four further albums, American downtempo pop powerhouse Tycho aka. Scott Hansen presents his sixth record Infinite Health. Hansen says Infinite Health is "about hope for the future and a requiem for the past." He explains: "I kept thinking back to the high-water mark scene in Fear and Loathing, the author sitting at a typewriter looking out a window onto his past, trying to find meaning in the chaos. Infinite Health is about creating a space for healing and reflection, a mantra for spiritual, emotional, and physical healing." Working within a higher-tempo, haute house range, the likes of 'Phantom', 'Devices' and 'Green' bridge the divides of acoustic and electronic, effortlessly portraying the imaginary unity of both, offering pristine ambitronic lulls and eco-friendly highs.

Review: By Scott Hansen's previously prolific standards, we've had to wait a fair old while for a new album. Infinite Health, the third Tycho album for Ninja Tune after years signed to Ghostly International, is by design something of a reset: a self-proclaimed meditation on "hope for the future" mixed with a "requiem for the past". Stylistically, that also means a return to his electronic roots, with colourful, melody-rich and sun-splashed synth sounds combined with unfussy beats and breaks, toasty basslines and glistening, AM radio-friendly guitar licks. It is then, regardless of the inspirations behind it, a classic-sounding Tycho album - as highlights 'Phantom', the instrumental deep synth-pop dreaminess of 'Devices' and the lo-fi, trip-hop influenced shuffle of 'Green' emphatically prove.