Various Artists – Idol Tryouts Volume 2 (Ghostly International/Inertia)

Quite simply the best compilation so far this year, Idol Tryouts 2 showcases a label at its prime. The Ann Arbor-based Ghostly International label has swiftly become the label to best represent the diversity of North American electronic music – from techno and house to electronically enhanced futuristic hip hop , modern industrial, lush ambient and experimental tones. This label diversity has been helped by an impressive design aesthetic, right from the earliest releases. Idol Tryouts 2 expands the roster further with a retrospective of some previous releases, some ring-ins, and new material. Disc one, subtlted avant-pop, opens with the sweet electro-pop melodies of Solvent before settling back into the rubbery techno funk of Matthew Dear and later the classic stripped back funk of Dabrye’s Magic Says. Some of Ghostly’s recent signings have been ‘proper’ bands and their latest Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys is a chaotic jittery freak-out soul fusion jam, and Benoit Pulard’s The Depths & The Seashore could have been pulled from 1991 shoegazer indie. Disc two is full of ambient delights – Loscil’s subaquatic pulses, Cepia’s widescreen haze, Greg Davis’s unravelling guitar spindle, Tim Hecker’s processed fuzz and feedback are the standouts.