Prefuse 73

After completely exorcising the frustrated machinations that characterised his intentionally confused, gap-filling previous effort Security Screening, indelible musical cartographer Guillermo Scott Herren returns in spectacular form with an expansive set that impresses from start to finish. With Preparations, Herren strikes that perfect balance between the rich, orchestral sensibilities that provide the record’s lush, harmonious base, and the glitchy, electronic rhythms that hold each of the producer’s dynamic creations together. Chopped bells, sweeping strings and ethereal vocal edits are used extensively on the record, while punchy, synthetic beats maintain a perpetual head-nodding pace and add the type of welcomed, progressive sonic contrast that has built the Prefuse name. As with every Herren production, no idea remains static for very long, and working to keep up with each cut’s subtle thematic shifts adds to this pleasurable listen. A special two-disc version of the album includes an entire second record, Interregnums, on which the producer sets aside his beats almost entirely and instead constructs a stunningly emotive, would-be film score awash in full-on string orchestration. This time Herren has surely outdone himself.