- BNJMN's early success, he has said, was partly down to his naivety. The albums Plastic World and Black Square were suffused with the freewheeling excitement of an artist coming to dance music relatively fresh. It's probably safe to assume that as he has become more experienced, his job has become harder. Following those albums, a string of EPs probed more specific sounds or ideas: 2012's spartan Unknown 2; the hyperactive glimmer of last year's Hummingbird; the recent IV, which explored darker, foggier textures. Coil, BNJMN's first release with Delsin, is a larger statement than all of those—across six tracks it roams from gauzy ambience ("Azure") to dark, tunnel-vision techno (the engrossing "Blown"). But with the exception of the bolder "And Suddenly," it once again sees BNJMN homing in on a single, subtle idea.
In this instance BNJMN seems intent on breaking down his abstracted bedroom techno to its smallest elements: clouds of particles, dancing in time to a submerged rhythm. Sometimes the results are unsatisfying. "Coil," in particular, piles on layer after layer of material, feeling busy but uneventful in a manner similar to patten's recent work. But when BNJMN throws one of his Aphex-style melodies into the mix, things come together nicely. "Berth" draws satisfyingly into focus in its closing minute; "Merge" is positively uplifting, a rare moment of velocity from an artist more concerned with dropping out than tuning in.
TracklistA1 Coil
A2 Berth
A3 Merge
B1 And Suddenly
B2 Blown
B3 Azure