Solar Bears

Anyone not convinced that the latest wave of electronic music from the Anglo-Celtic Isles lacks a definitive sound needs to hear Solar Bears. As Scotland's Rustie and Hudson Mohawke have helped revive UK big beat, the genre's rubbery rhythms and Bonzo drum-style have even found themselves imbedded within Solar Bears' brand of lofty, introspective psychedelia. On Supermigration, their sophomore release, the duo filter minor-key piano and soft-wave keyboards through a larger, more dynamic studio sound, leaving the listener with a dozen high-concept, low-end psych-runoffs. Tracks like guitar-solo-rific boom-bapper "Cosmic Runner," the warped, murky "Rising High" and dramatic synth number "Rainbow Collision" couldn't sound more varied in mood and methodology. Although Supermigration contains some gems, like the stylish "Our Future is Underground," featuring Air collaborator Beth Hirsch on vocals, and the Moroder-esque "A Sky Darkly," most of the album feels too much like a work-in-progress — a stylistic litmus test, if you will.