In 2006, Ema Jolly made the impulsive decision to leave the Bristol music scene in the midst of peak first-wave dubstep and hop on a flight to Berlin for an immersive education in clubland techno. Five years later, the former Ninja Tune intern released a full-length debut that draws from both scenes’ strengths, building emphatic two-step rhythmic palpitations infused with a coolly subdued precision that only makes the human voice fronting them feel just the right side of diabolical. One of those albums that shares knowing nods with its mainstream R&B/dance-pop contemporaries but pushes itself just a bit further into the playfully abrasive, Emika has all the components of crossover potential and none of the compromises, which makes cuts like the skittery yet restrained nailbiter dynamics of “Drop the Other” and the taut Britney-goes-minimalist swoon of “Double Edge” feel like a better-if-weirder world’s #1 hits.

– Nate Patrin