Top Electronic EPs of 2012
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Burial
Kindred
As many times as Burial’s aesthetic has been aped, nobody possesses the quiet grace, artful poise, or alchemical presence of this low-profile loner, who on this EP stretches his sound to new narrative depths while tweaking the formula ever so gently. 
Timothy Gabriele
Burial Hex
Eschatology II
Kind enough to stream his very limited edition life’s work on Bandcamp, Clay Ruby aka Burial Hex’s best work of 2012 is hard to pin down, but it’d probably be this one, part two of the “Precession of Nightfall” series of cassettes that’s alternately shambolic and sinister or aching and haunting, depending on where you catch it. Timothy Gabriele
JETS
JETS
Jimmy Edgar and Machinedrum present a set of tracks that merges the hypersexual R&B leanings of the former with the hyperactive drum skips of the latter. It’s an exciting an urgent affair—the sound of two artists pushing each other in the right directions. David Abravanel
Matmos
The Ganzfield
The first recorded output from Matmos’ years-in-the-making research into telepathy foregoes addressing the validity of ESP. Instead, these tense tracks suggest the very human confusion over the paranormal. David Abravanel
Sensate Focus
10 / 5 / 3.33333 / 2.5
Mark Fell reaches the ideal point between challenge and reward in his continued output of defiantly digital music. Running on snippets of house vocals and minor-chord stabs, this is (excuse the pun) as focused as Fell has ever been. David Abravanel
Spoonbill
Astro Archipelago
Australian womp-glad tickler Spoonbill reminded us why he’s one of the funkiest producers alive with Astro Archipelago, containing three of the quirkiest tracks you could ever hope to hear at a chill stage. Alan Ranta
Tara King th.
Uncolored Past
Helping to fill the sizable gap left behind by Broadcast, Parisian quartet Tara King th. released two parts to their Uncolored Past EP series in 2012, with part one summarizing their cinematic, haunting, baroque psych pop to perfection on the circular “Hole of Birds” and the minimal title track. Alan Ranta
Tipper
Shatter Box
After Tipper took his sound downtempo with 2010’s Broken Soul Jamboree, he’s been picking up speed with EPs and singles ever since, peaking 2012 with the inconceivably meticulous yet groovy glitch of Shatter Box. Alan Ranta
Traxman
Heat
While the glorious LP from the footwerk icon was a near miss from this list, the free EP he dropped this summer is just as good, a seizure-ready fit of jitter rhythm and hypnotic bleeping tones, an economically tight avant-garde mix in a musical world of surplus. Timothy Gabriele
