Plaid: Greedy Baby (Warp) - CD / DVD
Plaid are tricky fuckers. Their flirtation with extremism as part of the Black Dog left a myriad of musical puzzles which are still being deciphered today. But since the shift and their re-definition as Plaid, their musical codes have became easier to break. This is a criticism. They've become generic as the IDM genre itself.

But this, their first release in 3 years, is a welcome move to rescramble the signals. This time, they have visuals. Bob Jaroc's superbly executed and intricate films shift through various moods and styles. All doused in analogue decay and imperfections.

'War Dialler's surveillance paranoia represented in the style of a sixties public information film animation is tense. 'I citizen the loathsome' explores inner city twilight with accurate clarity against a sonic dense crescendo. But the Tokyo drift of 'Zen Zero' contains imagery that seems to be too commonly replayed in electronic music.

'E.M.R.' is stunning: refraction, light and liquid against one of Plaid's more abstract compositions. 'Super Position' is organic rave; pulsating microbes that explore the fields of saturated colour and focus levels.

The extra's are worthy too. The CNN-headfuck that is 'Crumax_Rins' is in turns amusing, mesmerising and upsetting. 'Assault on Precinct Zero' staples one of Plaid's more poppier tracks with grainy footage of their U.S. tour. Whilst 'New Family' is self-help messages and memories to euphoric techno pop.

One of the most complete and satisfying marriages of narrative audio and video I've ever seen. Should place Plaid back at the top of the Warp league tables.

Yellow Swans: Psychic Secession (Load) - CD
Seemed totally appropriate, but someone behind the counter of Camden's Music & Video Exchange had their previous 'Bring home the neon war' album on the stereo. Presumably to try to flush out the weekend dullards that were occupying the shop. Enquiry, download, purchase followed (I still prefer music as physical artefact). Since then I've backtracked through their discography and pretended to know who they were all along.

This is on Load Records, so its bound to be decent. Opener 'True Union' interrupts land mass, it's nominal yield of noise can be measured in megatonnes. The title track starts off with structure and voices before plunging head first into sustained white noise. And 'I woke up' flirts with ideas of rhythm and melody before disintegrating disgracefully.

Nothing here is wasted so everything can be left to waste.

Various Artists Grime 2 (Rephlex) - CD
Whilst at the time, all the music chasers were arguing over genre names, Rephlex were bold enough to kickstart documenting some of the key players away from the fickle world of 12"'s. The three artists showcased have since gone onto launch successful labels in their own right. But having said all that, most of it seems quite musically tame. Only the under-swept dub of Digital Mystikz stands up ('Awake' being the standout cut). Some of the tracks lapse over into breaks territory but on the whole its still a valuable document of a sound in development.

Burial: Burial (Hyperdub) - CD
I've seen some ridiculous analysis of this album on the wires. I'm not going go down the same route (words have never been my strong point). Needless to say that most people are right; this is one of the most startling debuts in recent memory and early contender for album of the year. Think of it as an updated South London version of the Blade Runner soundtrack. Favourite piece: the searing dread pulse of 'Distant Lights'.