The Mole

A half-decade ago, BC wunderkind Colin de la Plante packed up his laptop and moved to Berlin, joining a growing list of ex-pats, like Richie Hawtin, Marc Houle and Mathew Jonson, who have found success (and inspiration) in the land of microhouse. With Caregiver, his long awaited sophomore release as the Mole, de la Plante is settling in with his surroundings, as the chrome-plated groove that exemplifies contemporary German techno is proudly represented throughout the album's ten instrumentals. Working off pulsating clicks and elastic, sometimes funk-like rhythms, tracks like the asymmetric "A Daily Affair" and the diva sample-driven "Carry On (We Must)" assertively retrace that threadbare line between Detroit and Berlin. Despite a few thematic retreads on the album's second half, de la Plante does a fine job crafting songs that come off as dynamic, reactionary and cinematic, leaving Caregiver as a promising step forward for this budding student of sound.