Fabric

Emeralds' John Elliott is quickly demonstrating that he has killer taste. Along with reissuing a stellar Bee Mask release, Elliott's new Editions Mego offshoot, Spectrum Spools, has roped in Fabric, the rarely heard project from Chicago, IL multi-instrumentalist Matthew Mullane. Despite a few scattered, hard-to-find recordings, A Sort of Radiance is Fabric's proper debut, making a great first impression in the process. Falling in line with like-minded peers such as Oneohtrix Point Never, Sam Goldberg and Dylan Ettinger, Mullane comes packing a collection of beautifully layered synth workouts that are equally light and buoyant, dark and ominous, and, of course, cosmic as hell. But where Mullane excels is in his melodies. Always pleasing and easy on the ears, they make the album go down effortlessly. And even if A Sort of Radiance does have its fair share of gloomy undertones, Mullane has made this record come across as a very personal and emotional one, which is no easy feat for an entirely instrumental electronic artist, no matter the vintage.