Adam Betts – Colossal Squid (2016)

A one-man, live-recorded, rock-electronica album sounds like a messy concept until you hear it done well. Adam Betts’ first solo release, Colossal Squid weaves a truly dense narrative of electronic sound and live percussion across an instinctually natural flow of raw energy. It’s precisely that energy and impulsive, instinctual structure that keeps Colossal Squid grounded, and more importantly, fun.

At times, the electronic noise gets so dense, it can track like a poorly-lit dance club scene from any gritty action film made in the early 00’s. But it’s the intangible human underneath, Betts’ own guiding hand, pulling you arm-first through the turbulence and inexplicable fog along a visceral undercurrent of concise, danceable bangers, that stands as the lifeblood behind a sound that could so easily go off the rails into unlistenable dark territory, but instead, skews satisfyingly between niche and broad.