Blackploid Cosmic Traveller

There’s a familiar ring to the opening seconds of the opening track ‘Electric Engine’ that sounds incredibly like the intro to The Human League’s classic ‘Empire State Human’. From there the song makes a clear move to the dancefloor and struts with the kind of after-hours confidence you might hear from a prime Dopplereffekt or Juan Atkins record.

It’s a class EP from the start and things get better as we’re treated to a triarchy of Detroit electro, Sheffield bleep and Düsseldorf chords with ‘Night Drive’. ‘Pleasure Activism’ arguably nudges a very high bar somewhat higher as urgent, pounding electronics ratchet up an intensity that’s made even better by a snarling, angry chorus. We’ve waited 15 years since the only other Blackploid release, and on this evidence I hope we won’t have to wait as long until the third record drops.

As with previous CPU releases, there’s increasing evidence of mature synth-pop influences and genuinely memorable hooks that will make a striking first impression with listeners. The motoring, out-of-this-world sounds continue with ‘The Race’, which has a closer association to the classic CPU sound that fans may be familiar with. Never letting the foot off the gas, Blackploid winds the EP up as he starts, leaving behind a vibrant and evolving collection of well-executed tracks that combine into one of the strongest EPs in the label’s already-impressive back catalogue.