Album: Orbital, Wonky (ACP)

The first Orbital album in eight years offers further confirmation of the enduring strength of old-school electronic music.

Wonky is full of welcome rave-friendly moments like "Stringy Acid", where the high, shimmery tone is reminiscent of "Pacific State", and "Straight Sun", with its woozy synth undulations riding a slick, snappy beat matrix: both sound like classic festival fare, along with the twitchy "Distractions" and "New France", featuring Zola Jesus. There are few nods to modern dubstep methods, save for the wub-wub-wub bassline and limping rhythm of "Beelzedub". But there's always a cunningly emotional slant to their efforts – impressive enough in any branch of electronica, but miraculous when all they're dealing with is a few simple keyboard lines, spoken-word samples and an angry-bee synth buzz, as on "One Big Moment".

DOWNLOAD THIS One Big Moment; Straight Sun; Stringy Acid; New France