Alt-J's Thom Sonny Green lays his cards on the table on solo debut High Anxiety

High Anxiety is an exceptionally fitting title, as most of Green's instrumental tracks are skittering, ominous listens that simply evoke stress. "Ping" has operatic strings and time-bomb ticking filtered hi-hats; it warrants inclusion on the soundtrack for a gritty superhero movie.

"Vienna" is the closet Green gets to pure trip-hop, with beguiling synth chords and flaring pads that flit in and out of focus. The song takes its time building to a stirring conclusion, and is evidence of his pure skill as a producer.

The role of percussion on High Anxiety is worth noting given Green's background. This isn't an electronic album filled with elaborate, pulse-pounding drums like the work of SBTRKT, nor are the drums purely secondary as on Disclosure's debut. Green's percussion lines are simple, but the components are varied. The hates and snares are crunchy and digital on "VVVV", crisp and 808-reminiscent on "40 Beers".

The same goes for the synths, which make up the brunt of the album's instrumentation. The melodies are simple and clean, but the textures are diverse enough to hold the listener's attention. They are bombastic and growling on the dystopian "Large", twitchy and amusing on "Neon Blue".

High Anxiety could have been reduced to its 12 most essential tracks and been a bit better suited for more invested listening, but perhaps Green's goal was to give himself as much room as possible to experiment, and he certainly does so here.