This week's Techno releases reviewed

POINT B

Suicide Beauty Spot Combat Recordings ****

Given that it specialises in militant bass music, Combat is not the most obvious place for Richard Bultitude (aka Point B) to release his debut album. The visceral, lurching Mineralsis the only connection to the label's usual dance floor output, but Bultitude clearly enjoys mixing and matching styles, nuances and, at times, seemingly incompatible sources. This is audible on Weightless, where a menacing, wobbly bass and cut-up rhythms provide the backdrop for an unexpected, breathless vocal sample. Further Thoughts on Movementsees Bultitude operate in an undefined space between a jumpy two-step groove and austere electro futurism. If the Indian vocals and summery groove of Candouris ever released as a single, it may give Combat its first crossover hit, an unthinkable concept for the label before this album. www.combat recordings. com

Download tracks: Candour, Further Thoughts on Movement, Guilty Pleasures