Belong

Peter Kremier, the single face behind Losoul, practices what a far more pretentious media outlet has dubbed "microhouse." It is a genre that encompasses a select range of German artists, from the click and pop minimalism of Thomas Brinkmann to the exotic minimal beats of Playhouse labelmate Isolee. Belong certainly opens in the microhouse vein, with the dubby kick and clicky hi-hat of the shape-shifting "Taste Not Waste." But instead of flogging the same horse track after track, Kremier seeks out unique additions to the rigid microhouse formula. The tempo of "Late Play" lurches up and down as if someone will not lay off the pitch control, while "Resisting Curate" and "Position" add flute and flamenco guitar to the mix. Kremier completely lets go by the latter half of the album. "Overland" is based around a pastiche sine-wave version of the bassline from "Billie Jean," while the enigmatically named Malte provides an '80s vocal performance on "Lies" in a manner of sincerity that only Europeans seem capable of. Kremier manages to resist being trapped in his chosen genre by concentrating on the embellishments and, in doing so, created a record that should spend much time in your Rio player. ~ Joshua Glazer