July: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Dauwd 'Theory Of Colours' (Technicolour)

From the very first forlorn keys that open up this beautiful little LP, you know you’re in for a treat. Dauwd’s progression as an artist has been steady and seemingly unaffected by the universal praise he’s picked up over the last few years: he’s stayed fresher under pressure and kept the good music rolling. This album, on Ninja Tune offshoot Technicolour, presents an idiosyncratic take on electronic music that’s imbued with deep emotional content, yet danceable. All the while his engineering capabilities shine through, giving the album a polished touch. It’s a collection of journeys within a journey, with tracks such as ‘Murmure’ allowing you to drift away from everyday life, while the likes of like ‘Glass Jelly’ offer more head nodding moments. Marcus Barnes

9/10

Rodriguez Jr 'Baobab' (Mobilee Records)

Olivier Mateu returns to Mobilee Records under his Rodriguez Jr alias, offering an eclectic, wide-ranging journey of evocative and emotive house. Written while travelling and influenced by his musical roots growing up in the south of France mastering the piano, ‘Baobab’ begins with ‘An Evidence Of Time’s intricate heartbeat, before Paris-based singer Liset Alea makes her first of several appearances. The Cuban-American’s soft vocal links different phases: on ‘Heal Me’ she touches on the complexities of being human, before showcasing vulnerability on the dream-like ‘Waste Tomorrow’. Enchanting highlight ‘Monticello’ ramps up the intensity, building into ‘Ellipsism’ and the anthemic closer ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’. Ben Jolley

7/10

The Mulholland Free Clinic 'The Mulholland Free Clinic' (Away Music)

Veering between atmospheric dark ambient, bubbling electro psychedelia and narco techno, these all-analogue pieces from experimental supergroup The Mulholland Free Clinic (Move D, Juju & Jordash and Jonah Sharp) are a wonderfully fluid entity. Edited down to album length from its original three-hour live session, its opener, ‘Vital Signs’, sprawls across 17 minutes in a droney wash of ambient tics and sinuous chords. On ‘Ebb & Flow’, flecks of druggy guitar and wonky acid arps head into DJ Harvey-style Balearic territory, but it’s ‘The Dawgs Are Alright’ that best sums the album up, morphing from abstract techno into a delicious, witching hour freakout. Stephen Worthy

8/10

Talamanca System 'Talamanca System' (International Feel)

It’s clear that between Gerd Janson, Phillip Lauer and International Feel boss Mark Barrott, there’s enough inspiration (and perspiration) to create a warm, unified vision of how they like their house to sound. There’s never been a better time, then, for the three of them to dive into this particular part of the Balearics. ‘Transatlantique’ is Italo-inspired piano house of the highest order,‘104’ channels early Tensnake classic ‘Congolal’ and ‘Ancona Ancona’ is the sort of instrumental house jam Shep Pettibone would approve of. Assured, emotional and with just the right amount of sun-drenched Ibiza chemistry (‘Distant Shore’ particularly), this is an LP that understands the history but never gets weighed down with reverence. Ralph Moore

8/10