(Tectonic)

www.myspace.com/tectonicrecordings

Ever spoiling the party, Dave "2562" Huismans is perpetually rattling peaceful climes with tribal rhythms and buzzsaw-edged breakbeats. After leading a techno/dubstep hybrid charge on his visionary Channel Two 12", Aerial LP, and more, the Netherlands-born producer hasn't yet outgrown his affection for minimal Berlin sounds. Huismans treads more melodic, danceable ground on sophomore full-length Unbalance, dazzling with curt drum edits and rather inventive compositions altogether.

If the consensus is that too few dubstep producers are taking liberties with the meaty, sub-bass formula that defined the sound when it fired up amid post-UK garage music, naysayers aren't listening closely enough to Dave Huismans. Unbalance is frenetic with the kind of boundary-pushing work that Huismans has been perfecting under at least a couple of aliases for years. Of-the-moment funk and spazzy 2-step meet on a spacious, techy landscape here, and finding an uninteresting corner is nearly impossible.

Unbalance's "Lost" is a haunting concoction, brewed with nomadic vocal samples and disjointed chimes-it's closer to Tectonic chieftain Pinch's work on Underwater Dancehall than it is to Huismans' frosty Aerial. "Lost" is loose and busy, with Huismans pulling back on his dizzying production toward its close for maximum effect. Rich with just as ambient a backdrop, "Narita" is a swirling stunner, and just ahead of the choppy thrust of pre-album single "Love In Outer Space", it's in powerful company.

At London's Corsica Studios in early October this year, German techno producer Shed played a supporting role in the 2562 album launch party. Pairing the two is inevitable; Shed's recent Shedding the Past on Ostgut Ton is so stocked on minimal sorcery and displacing synth swells that jabs from the album's brawny percussion knock you out of your chair. It's hard, transfixing techno, and in fact, most of its tracks would slip nicely against anything on Unbalance.

Standout Tracks: "Lost," "Love In Outer Space" DOMINIC UMILE