Supremely dark, emotionally controlled, and clinically seductive in its design and desire to pull you into the darker waters of break beat, ‘The Path Of Most Resistance’ by Jean-Paul Bondy is not for the faint of heart. Drawing influences from early Autechre, Tipper and ‘Ultra’ era Depeche Mode, Bondy has created an album that stalks you relentlessly from the shadows. The always impressive Germanic nujazz connoisseurs at Compost Records have really stepped outside their comfort zone on this one, and – like Bondy – they should get a big slap on the back for this intelligent, forward thinking release.

Bondy obviously has friends in high places within the underground electronica community. John Tejada, Carl A. Finlow and former partner in crime Justin Maxwell all turn in a helping hand, but really this is Bondy’s show, and from the outset he makes that clear, as the supremely talented (not to mention highly distinctive) guests are used so sparingly they almost drown in Bondy’s soundscpape. The truly mesmerising ‘Cold Reformer’ features Finlow’s very Gahan-esque vocals treading cautiously on the cold, thin ice of Bondy’s fragile and emotive electro. When he repeats “I see you, I see you, I see you” you can feel the tremor in his throat and almost see the fog when he breathes the words. What follows is intense, propulsive and powerful, and there is no ease until the gorgeous but rather indulgent nine minute epic ‘Monochrome’.

‘Delia’s Temptation’ draws heavily from Vangelis, all spacey synths soaked in an almost oppressive atmosphere of reverb and echo, but steeped in melancholy and a unique sense of abandonment that seems to permeate through most of the album. The sharp, dark machine groove of ‘Origami Mummy’ is almost frightening in its steely ambition to get your booty moving, and the truly epic last track ‘Bit by Bit/Ear Worms’ begins as a ripple of eerie glitches, skittering drums and sublime vocals, only to morph into a tsunami of stomping drums and monster squelches as Bondy and Tejada open the four-four flood gates. It’s an amazing close to an amazing album and even though it is not for everyone, it will be indelible to those who like the darker shades of dance music.