The latest transmission from Death in Vegas proves to be one of their most challenging and best

Returning after a seven year break with 2011's excellent Trans-Love Energies album, his music had taken a noticeable left turn, gone were the routine of guest vocals and beaty material, replaced with an introverted sound which referenced both obscure acid house and dusty Jesus and Mary Chain 7”s at the same time, expertly fusing electronics with krautrock influenced propulsion washed with shoegaze atmospherics, it was his most satisfying release to date.

Those expecting more of the same will be surprised (a real surprise rather than a record industry derived 'oh it's a Beyonce album' forced surprise) as Transmission comes from a totally different place. Working alongside vocalist Sash Grey, this album is a techno album, but with a twist. Using the clinical sound of early 80's IBM and Grey's obscure and breathy vocals which drop in and out of tracks like another strand of instrumentation, Transmission refers back to the harsh sounds of late 70's electronics, early Cabaret Voltaire, a pre-hits Human League, Nitzer Ebb and that handful of interesting tracks by Simple Minds when they thought they were Roxy Music.

Techno in form, but not designed solely for dance floors, there are tracks here that could sit happily within a mix set by the likes of Simian Mobile Disco or Joris Voorn, “Arise” is cold, hard, and minimal, with the kind of bassline throb and techno plink plonks that could easily get a sweaty basement rocking. There are moments of freakzone style weirdness amongst the big room material too. The opening eleven minutes of “Metal Box”, named after his studio is a drone-led tension piece, the barely there beats of “Strom” is a great piece of swirling ambient music while “Transwave” evokes images of abandoned buildings being punished by the unforgiving waters that surround it.

The slow build from simple percussion to icy synthesized pop on “Consequences of Love”, the spatial acid house of “Flak”, and the lysergic laced electro of “You Disco I Freak” are all expert pieces of contemporary electronic music which show the likes of DJ Koze or Patrice Bäumel a run for their considerable money.

The problem you tend to get with an artist when they’ve been active for over twenty years is that sense of familiarity (as in, you can pretty much guess what an album by the likes of Underworld is going to sound like before listening to it), but with the aforementioned Trans-Love Energies and now Transmission, Fearless is releasing the best material of his career.