Pavel Milyakov’s string of EBM-influenced releases have shown him to be a master of an intentionally ugly craft. The Moscow DJ/producer’s bare-bones take on techno is a defiantly unpleasant one that has the power to turn club into apocalypse.

This LP retains that sense of gnarliness while adding an unexpected – and unexpectedly delightful – level of sheen. Opener March Cherskogo is a slab of militant bleep and bass weirdness that comes on like Milyakov left his arpeggiator to rot under acid rain. Back 2 the E is a clanking, minimal, bell-heavy roller that could conceivably drip from the Funktion-One at DC10 – on a particularly weird morning. Elektroshirka is the kind of subaquatic threadbare electro that, in lesser hands, usually sounds sub-Drexciya, but here is slinky and sparkling.

The LP’s second half is just as satisfying, with the wonky, early Warp vibe of Slow Durk running into the seasick and skeletal AXF like a hyperactive child hitting a brick wall at full pelt. The Russian producer rounds things off in typically brutal fashion with the bumping, and aptly named 808 exc dirty, all low end rumble and whiplash toplines. Cherskogo Drive is a solid contender for the best home-suitable, club-ready LP of the year thus far.

Josh Baines