This is a tough one

For as stark as Ghettoville can be sometimes be, it is a dense, wildly abstract piece of work. This won‰’t come as a shock to those who have been following Actress up until this point, but for the average listener, some patience is needed. The tracks here are based mostly in minimal techno while taking inspiration from vaporwave, obsessed with repetition and cold, clunky rhythms that sometimes don‰’t go anywhere, nor do they intend to. It‰’s very deliberate and slow at times, with the first track almost certainly being intended to weed out those who aren‰’t going to be willing to put into the time that Ghettoville really needs to begin to be delved into. The patient listener will be rewarded, however, as the album really starts to open up from its shell after about a third of the way in, with the track “Gaze‰” going so far as to even be danceable. As electronic albums go, this is certainly not one to put on at a party unless you‰’re trying to make everybody leave at the end of the night. However, it‰’s experimentation, though a bit much at times, is to be admired, and when it works, Ghettoville‰’s abstract sketches start to clear from their intentional haze, revealing a downright admirable album.

RIYL: Non-Windowlicker Aphex Twin, Oheohtrix Point Never, Andy Stott, Laurel Halo
Recommended Tracks: 4, 7, 10