Never The Right Time

Andy Stott’s music was never particularly upbeat—on early albums like 2006’s *Merciless* and 2008’s *Unknown Exception*, the Manchester electronic musician bathed Detroit-inspired techno in shadowy reverb—but on 2011’s *Passed Me By*, he plunged definitively into the depths of despair. Slowing the tempo to an agonized crawl, he traded forceful drum programming and clean-lined synths for hazy abstractions and crumpled, lo-fi textures. Ten years later, Stott is still spelunking through the same cavernous murk: *Never the Right Time* opens with plaintive scrapes of post-punk guitar, and the record is awash in similarly suggestive tones, like the expectant crackle of “Don’t know how” or the blown-out pianos of “When It Hits.” But his long-running collaboration with the vocalist Alison Skidmore continues to lead even his most downcast songs toward new forms of grace, balancing out his bruising low end with an air of weightlessness. What’s more, after a decade of dissipation, it sounds like Stott is muscling up again: The drum-driven “Answers,” “Repetitive Strain,” and the title track boast his heaviest rhythms in years.

Marking 10 years since he set off down his path of dour, slow-motion techno, the Manchester musician returns to his familiar palette of ashen moods and richly textured electronics.

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Andy Stott's Never the Right Time may be the most inviting record in his catalogue, an entry point into his funereal sound-world. It’s also one of his best.