Kuiper finetunes Floating Points' spellbinding blend of electronica and cosmos-navigating noodling

Speaking of theory, describing the two sprawling cuts on Kuiper EP without provoking anti-noodling prejudices can be a challenge; on paper, both provide a fairly effective dictionary definition of conceptually advanced but really quite dry tedium. However, even though its 18-minute duration makes Elaenia's epic centrepiece "Silhouettes" seem like a mere sketch, the title track manages not to waste a note. The first few minutes suggest not that much has changed since Shepherd's early run of accomplished but relatively conventional minimalist electronica. Once the pulsating live grooves (the limber rhythm section is the real star of this show) and dramatically soaring, decidedly cosmic analogue keyboards kick in, however, it becomes blatantly obvious quite how far Floating Points has ventured into previously uncharted territory.

Is this electronica? To begin with, yes, undoubtedly, in its minimalist and abstract incarnation. Is it jazz? Possibly, especially its rhythmically endowed, psychedelic variations, such as electric Miles Davis and Pharoah Sanders, although “Kuiper” appears a bit too tightly orchestrated (yet still winningly loose; check out the middle section's muscular duet for nothing but drums and bass, more than slightly reminiscent of the overdriven "Blood Money" from Primal Scream's XTRMNTR, which itself has its roots in classic dub minimalism ala King Tubby-helmed "Sir Niney's Rock") to justify filing under a banner dedicated to improvisation. Could it be Post-Rock? Almost certainly, if only for the slow-burning, majestically mournful coda the track eventually glides into. This is experimental music at its very finest, and rarest: unashamedly cerebral, but also unrelenting in its dedication to powerful dynamics and – crucial point, this – melodic hooks.

Next to this thrilling showcase of compositional prowess and extraordinarily maintained momentum-building, the Moog-hued ambient balm of “For Marmish Part II” - named as a follow-up to Elaenia's most beautiful moment - come across as fairly uneventful mood music. However, we're talking of the most startlingly engaging noodling you're likely to encounter this year, uneventful only in comparison to the awe-inspiring array of moves - all of them good or much, much better – that have been presented to us before it.