Matthew Dear

Matthew Dear is often too versatile for his own good. First and foremost a DJ—the man behind the break-beat techno of monikers False and Jabberjaw—Dear also dabbles in ambient music and likes to sing duets with indie rockers. His last and most successful LP, Black City, plays more like a heady concept album than a toe-tapping mixtape. The album conjures a seedy metropolis, and he employs his music in service of this fictional space, intentionally straying from his strengths.

It is not uncommon for his fans to attend concerts dressed in rave attire, holding glow sticks, only to hear severely ambient 150 bpm music. Dear talks about following in the footsteps of David Bowie and David Byrne, but the connections between Dear’s work and that pair are hard to make. His electronica does bear a close resemblance to legendary producer Brian Eno, who’s collaborated with Byrne and Bowie—but Dear’s often monotonous vocals pale in comparison to those of his idols.

Listening to Headcage, his second EP in as many years, there is no question where Dear’s strengths lie. He is a masterful beat maker suited to satisfy unconscious headspace for patrons at a hopping bar. He consistently manages to create tempos that find the sweet spot between exuberance and chill. Eponymous single “Headcage” is less saccharine than European rave music, but still propulsive. “Around the Fountain” wisely lets his lyrics take the backseat—“I don’t need to tell you much,” he sings. Instead Dear capitalizes on the potency of his mellow techno rhythms. Best of all, “In the Middle (I Met You There)” gives away the vocals to a superior voice, Drums’ frontman Jonathan Pierce. Pierce’s excellent performance reinforces the sentiment that Dear’s work can be enlivened by fluid voice less reliant on distortion. With its drawn-out, lackluster vocals and its indecipherable lyrics, “Street Song” becomes a four-minute lull in an album that lasts only 15 minutes.

Yet Dear’s techno chops remain extraordinary, and he has picked up an instinct for electronic translucence that often recalls the best of Atlas Sound. If he leases out a few more guest vocal spots and lets the drum lines take center stage, his upcoming full-length Beams could be something special.