Although I never reviewed it on my old site, I was a big fan of This Bliss by Pantha Du Prince when it came out back in 2006 on Dial Records. It was one of those albums that had a couple tracks that completely shot white heat through your brain (namely, “Asha,” “Saturn Strobe,” and “Steiner In Flug”), but was fairly solid as a minimal churner throughout.

In terms of some of his contemporaries (like Gui Boratto and The Field), Hendrick Weber took his time in releasing this, his third album. Toward the end of last year, though, he started hinting at things to come with 12″ singles of “Behind The Stars” and “The Splendour.” Those two singles by themselves showed a clear step forward and a real progression in terms of craft, and they’re really just the tip of the iceberg on the 11 songs and nearly 70 minutes that is Black Noise.

Sonically, Weber is still one of the better guys working in terms of his abilities to manipulate sound. Although the album kicks off with what sounds like a field recording, it soon slides over into his immaculate world of sound, where sparkling crystalline pads refract off delicious rhythm programming that’s sharp without ever being too busy. The aforementioned “The Splendour” arrives early in the release, and it’s certainly a highlight. If anything, it takes more than a usual amount of time to really lock in, and that’s part of the charm, as multiple layers of overlapping chimes cascade over one another as the beat programming layers in slowly. Eventually, it all coalesces into something beautiful and propulsive, though, and takes it all and runs through to completion.

“The Splendour” – Pantha Du Prince

If there’s one misstep on the release, it’s the collaboration with Panda Bear on “Stick To My Side.” While the track itself isn’t bad by any means, the vocals themselves feel completely out of place on the release, especially when there aren’t any other tracks that have them (other than the sparse phrases on “Behind The Stars,” which doesn’t really break the flow as much). That said, the rest of the release is very solid, with a sort of extra-textural feel that wasn’t in place on the more austere This Bliss. There are huge ripples of shimmering sounds in places, and on some tracks, like the album closer of “Es Schneit,” the rhythm barely escapes the more textural elements.

“Es Schneit” – Pantha Du Prince

And really, it’s those little changes mixed in with Webers already incredible production skills that make this new album such a joy. It’s minimal techno, technically, but don’t worry; It has a heart.

(buy Black Noise at amazon.com)