Do You Hear the Hum

It's hard not to hear the hum: although the third album by experimental Portland collective Mise en Abyme doesn't contain a literal drone underpinning all the songs à la Camille's Le Fil, there's a sense throughout Do You Hear the Hum of a just barely audible electronic murmur. This is handy because there are very few other clear through-lines on Do You Hear the Hum, one of those albums that makes a point of being as eclectic as possible, treating its whiplash-inducing tonal shifts between songs as a virtue. So, for example, the album moves from the lulling, sparse electronica of "The Riot" into the harsh, jerky, megaphone-vocal "The Blinds," which then shades into "Tourist," a blend of High Llamas-style shimmer and the dark neo-noir atmosphere of Barry Adamson's recent work. Alternating between passages of abrasive noise and lyrical beauty, Do You Hear the Hum is a deliberately fractured but often compelling listen.