September: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Patricia 'Several Shades Of The Same Colour' (Spectral Sounds)

As you might expect from someone who’s released on Opal Tapes and L.I.E.S., Max Raviz (aka Patricia) doesn’t deal in crisp and shiny sounds: this record is full of tape hiss, fuzzed-out textures and things lurking in the sonic shadows. This sort of lo-fi electronica has become as much of a cliché as male techno producers using female names lately – but Raviz does it with panache and uses the blurring and buzzing as brain-tickling instruments in their own right, rather than just affectations. There’s an undeniable funk to his electro and acid constructions and, while all the murk and gloom can occasionally get to you, it’s worth pushing through: the weirder these tracks get, the better they are. Joe Muggs

6/10

Lee Gamble 'Mnestic Pressure' (Hyperdub)

In his own words, Lee Gamble’s latest LP is a reaction to Western society that is both “strobing, visual… A constant subliminal advertisement” and “dreamlike, alien.” The infinite scroll of a million social media feeds is audible on ‘Quadripoints’, while 21st-century anxiety is encapsulated in the creepy synths of ’23 Bay Flips’. This is music born from information overload and the quick slide toward environmental and political chaos, but while Gamble threatens to leave you scarred, he also offers refuge, too, in the form of his signature styles: ‘You Hedonic’ is an immersive cloak of heavy ambience and ‘A tergo Real’ is beautifully deep, dusty house. ‘Ghost’, meanwhile, is absorbing jungle that’s lush to dance to while the world implodes. Seb Wheeler

7/10

Bambooman 'Whispers' (Accidental Records)

Music made from found sounds, odd percussive instruments and myriad samples can all too often just seem like a bit of fun rather than anything with lasting impact. Not so the work of beat alchemist Bambooman, the Leeds artist who has a magpie approach to sourcing sounds but always manages to make them coalesce into something more than exhibitions of wackiness. His beautiful debut is the perfect fit for Matthew Herbert’s Accidental label: as well as weird and wonderful percussion and some proper instruments, the sound of bird calls, breaking waves and footsteps on a frosty path all add charm to underlying house, dub and ambient tracks. They’re short and sketchy, but that only makes you want to play the whole thing again. K Caryl

9/10