Daedelus has been one of the most innovative and prolific artists working in hip hop and electronic music over the last twenty years. The Los Angeles producer hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, either, with his entry into Fat Beats’ Baker’s Dozen series coming out last year. Now he comes back once again with another full-length album, Taut.

Daedelus was part of a wave of really innovative electronic music coming out of Los Angeles in the early ‘00s, and over the years he’s given us a lot of different looks, never resting on a predictable sound. In doing so, he’s been able to count me as a fan, with some his albums and collaborations counting amongst my all-time favorites. When I see that Daedelus has a new album coming out, I’m always filled with a mixture of curiosity and excitement. With that stage set, listening to Taut was just a little bit of a disappointment for me. Not that it’s a bad instrumental album, but only that it felt just a little disconnected and uninspired as a whole. There are great tracks, and Daedelus of course keeps his drum work really complex and inventive, and there are some gorgeous moments, such as the electric piano that opens the album on “Pulse Width.” It’s interesting to see him take on different styles, such as the late ‘80/early ‘90s hip hop/R&B sound of “Pull Through,” which features Goodnight Cody. It’s more that the music jumps around a lot, and it often feels like things aren’t building towards anything or in conversation with each other. It just feels a little more random than I’m used to hearing with a Daedelus album, whom often feels like he’s creating grand compositions using the entire album to make a musical statement.

Taut is still a good instrumental album, but when set the standard as high for yourself as Daedelus has, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed when his album just sounds “okay.” That said, there are still moments across the album that serve as reminders that he can still crush it, and that he’ll definitely come back stronger sooner than later.