Sonic Reducer

Long Island Electrical Systems aka L.I.E.S. is the brainchild of Brooklyn DJ Ron Morelli. Three years ago, Morelli embraced a reclusive music-making ethos over endless nightlife indulgence—and it paid off in spades. And Morelli’s not a hermit, as his popular European DJ schedule attests, but thank goodness he sometimes bolts the door to his workshop in the boroughs. This two-disc compilation highlights notable, new artists from L.I.E.S. roster. A compendium of outsider house, it boasts a Legowelt track, but the most intriguing work here comes from relatively obscure acts. I can’t do this brutal electro feast justice in a micro review, but the artists-to-watch list includes: Beau Wanzer, Daywalker + CF, Florian Kupfer, Jahiliyya Fields, Samantha Vacation, Svengalisghost, Terekke and TX Connect. L.I.E.S. drops this dark interior juggernaut on Dec. 10. (Samantha Anne Carrillo)

The music reviewer hive mind insists that Mug Museum, the latest album from wan Welsh songstress Cate Le Bon, owes its sound to Tom Verlaine; thank Le Bon’s guitarist, H. Hawkline, for that. Meanwhile, Le Bon’s accented voice, with its keening stylized melancholy, is incessantly compared to late German pop chanteuse Nico. Both are apt, but it’s also fitting to say that Le Bon owes much more to post-punk bands LiLiPUT, Essential Logic and The Raincoats. Harmonies and slant rhymes both sound effortless on “Are You With Me Now?” but soldier through the shrill parting vocals on “Duke.” “I Think I Knew” is a slow-dance heartache duet with Perfume Genius. With “Wild” and “Sisters,” eerie organ lines sound equal parts Ray Manzarek and Terry Riley. If you like your pop listless and lyrically obtuse, then Mug Museum might be your cuppa tea. (M. Brianna Stallings)