December: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Andrew Hung 'Realisationship' (Lex Records)

Andrew Hung has moved as far away from his Fuck Buttons roots as is possibly imaginable. Once immersed in the nebulous electronic noise of the duo’s respective outside projects – Hung’s Dawn Hunger and bandmate Ben Power’s Blanck Mass – those two offshoots peaked with being featured in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. Hung’s new undertaking, however, is something else entirely: recorded and produced by himself, it’s a bizarre turn into wobbly indie rock. Reminiscent of a clumsier kind of guitar-drums-bass (plus synths) arrangement, the only remnant of Hung’s Fuck Buttons days is the privileging of drums in the mix. The rest of this unexpected foray is a trip into a post-punk and synth-pop past that needs no repeating. Steph Kretowicz

5/10

Anja Schneider 'SoMe' (Sous)

Anja Schneider’s first album in nine years (and also her first since leaving Mobilee) is a seamless, soulful blend of underground house and techno. The album’s biggest track – the rave piano-pounding ‘All I See’ – looks destined to be a huge club anthem this winter, while the richly melodic ‘Sanctuary’ featuring bearded Stereo MC Rob Birch is another standout cut, with barbed lyrics and a deft, bubbling techno underbelly. A clutch of on-point club missiles then take the album home, before it finishes on a Massive Attack-like moment of haze and clarity. Only the trumpet-fuelled d’n’b interlude ‘WMF’ sounds a little bit out of place, but that’s just a minor quibble: ‘SoMe’ is a pertinent reminder that there’s still beauty in idiosyncrasy. Ralph Moore

8/10

Galcher Lustwerk 'Dark Bliss' (White Material)

Galcher alerted press to his debut album just days before he uploaded it to Bandcamp – a characteristically low-key move from an artist who seems uncomfortable with the cult stardom he’s fostered ever since he released that production mix in 2013. Whether he likes it or not, an LP (eight tracks, in this case) from one of this decade’s best deep house producers is a big deal, and fans will be gagging for what he’s served up on ‘Dark Bliss’: steady cruisin’ kicks, delicious pads and smoky lyrics that tell of the different shades of romance found in long nights and bright mornings. It’s duskier and less optimistic (“I’ve got a red rose and I’m a throw it in the trash”) than previous productions, but classic Lustwerk all the same. Seb Wheeler

7/10