CFCF

It's strange to think that it's only been three years since CFCF released his debut full-length. In fact, the Montreal knob-twiddler has covered so much musical ground (over a half-dozen EPs and mixtapes) in such a short amount of time that it's already safe to call him a veteran. His latest, Exercises, is a mini-album/EP that valiantly tackles yet another facet of electronic music: the piano and synth slow-burner. Somewhere in-between the '80s neon workouts of his Continent LP and the glacial movements of his Drifts EP, Exercises relies on fault line structures, sparse key-noodling and beat-less thought pieces. While "Exercise 1 (Entry)," "Exercise 4 (Spirit)" and "Exercise 6 (December)" follow these descriptors rather dogmatically, other tracks branch out slightly, as "Exercise 2 (School)" combines clicking, poly beats and ringing synth, while "Exercise 3 (Buildings)" comes closest to the emblematic CFCF-sound: rounded, anti-glitch synth-scapes. The lone vocal-assisted track, a cover of David Sylvian's "September," shows that CFCF aspires to be known as a serious artist, not just an electronic one.