The Path of Most Resistors

Jean Paul Bondy normally records under the name Volum and as half of the electro duo Volsoc. Never heard of either? No matter — Bondy's first solo album for the Munich-based Compost label finds him exploring sounds that his previous work wouldn't do much to prepare you for anyway. The punningly titled Path of Most Resistors finds him creating unusually warm and human-sounding techno-funk in a style that owes quite a bit to the Berlin and London electro scenes but ultimately succeeds at mapping out its own territory. The album opens with "Something Is Not Right," a decidedly wry piece of postmodern hip-hop featuring The Blood of Abraham; it then proceeds to move into what sounds an awful lot like early Depeche Mode with "Cold Reformer" (featuring singer Carl Finlow) before exploring dark and unsettled techno sounds with "Dry Humper," and "Prompted Some Observers." Conventionally pretty instrumental abstraction follows with "Delia's Temptation," while "Monochrome" delivers a similar vibe but with the salutary addition of Rochelle Vincente's lovely voice. The album's most ambitious track is also its least effective: a 12-minute epic titled "Bit By Bit/Ear Worms," which meanders more than it convinces. Highly recommended overall.