Who Are You

There’s a very special category of electronica that’s heavy on melody, influenced by New Age music, and very conspicuously exudes geniality. Quirky British acts like Plone, the Ghost Box stable when they’re at their least spooked, and Four Tet at his gentlest all touch on this — and Californian E Ruscha V is absolutely steeped in it. As his tracks wash gently by there’s loads of Les Baxter type exotica, a lot of endlessly-unfolding new age guitar noodling, hints of the Balearic aesthetic, but Ruscha has so much personality as a composer that each time the melodies lift you up above and beyond any piffling stylistic concerns. This is a record that treats you like a treasured friend: a record that looks after you.