Shygone

"Yeti in the City," this album's opener, sounds like its authors have been listening to a lot of dubstep, experimental electronic music and underground hip-hop while scoring a really weird episode of Monk. The production might be a bit slick for some, but there's nothing wrong with technological competence, and "Murder the Dancehall" could easily be a club hit with its dub-inflected glitch. Among these seven tracks are tastefully expert guitar treatments from Cole Rudy, and for the chill and smooth "Sunday Dub," Shygone recruited the melodiously soulful vocals of Lilly Scott. In another era, this would be described as a hybrid of trip-hop and mainstream hip-hop, but Shygone has infused it all with an ear for the modern dance club, where house and hip-hop aren't mutually exclusive concepts.