Lusine's more recent work has been memorable for its hyper-catchy, electronic vocal pop, in which voice performances are chopped, sliced and rearranged into sonic prisms that reflect light from myriad angles. But Lusine has been careful not to overdose listeners on this, filling out his LPs with instrumental IDM excursions that have a darker or more down-tempo feel, as well.
On Sensorimotor, Lusine's first album since 2013's The Waiting Room, the Seattle-based producer sticks to the same approach, but while some of the vocal tracks reach the same heights as those on earlier records, the rest of the album falls a little flat.
Opening cut "Canopy" is an exception and a standout; it opens with a calming wash of bells that evokes the work of Pantha du Prince before distorted synths swell up in a tense, attention-grabbing intro. And the beatless interlude "Chatter" uses what sound like woodwind samples in interesting ways. But elsewhere, tracks like "The Level," "Flyway" and "The Lift" are safe, inoffensive house tracks that indulge in some of trance and progressive's less respectable tropes. Nothing is risked, and nothing is gained.
Vocal tracks like "Tickling Hands" and "Won't Forget" are classic Lusine, and should be cherry-picked onto listeners' pop playlists this spring, but Sensorimotor as a whole isn't as strong as Lusine's previous efforts for Ghostly International.
