The enigmatic Morgan Geist returns with his second solo LP, and the first since his album as Metro Area with Darshan Jesrani. Whereas Metro Area are more dancefloor focused, Double Night Time has a down tempo vibe and has included vocals from Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan and electronica experimentalist Kelley Polar. The rhythms range from standard 4/4 to quirky broken beats, and they’re flourished with digitalised melodies and rhythms. He draws on influences like Detroit techno, Chicago house, minimal, disco and techno, and he blends them all effortlessly.

Opener Detroit starts with soft synth stabs before the hushed tones of Greenspan flutters in, asking the listener; “Can you remember that night, we drove through the stars?” An arpeggiated bassline introduces the kick drum, and things start to get moving with a refrain paying homage to Motorcity. The album has a very synthetic feel overall, and one suspects there is little to no live instrumentation. Geist has said in interviews he wanted to make a pop release, not a dance album, and to not be restricted to the structure of ‘dance’ tracks. Second track The Shore also features Greenspan’s dulcet tones, but over a restrained broken beat and bleeping synths with soft atmospheric keys.

Nocebo takes the current flavour of space disco purveyors like Lindstrom and Windsurf to create a slow burning, early morning chiller. Skyblue Pink is the slowest track on the album and comes complete with acidic washes and hypnotic cowbell, and as such is a marked departure for Geist. Ruthless City is an accessible mid-tempo 4/4 jam with a progressive bassline and chiming synths that’s immediately attractive. Palace City is probably the most dancefloor ready track with noisy, choppy bassline and a Booka Shade like rumbling melody. Closer Lullaby could be a lost Postal Service track, and it’s one of the album highlights.

Double Night Time is a quality album from a true individual of the electronic music scene. His brand of minimal disco is attractive to all manner of listeners, and it sits well in headphones as well as the dancefloor. Geist is truly someone who sets trends rather than conforms to them, so we can only hope that the second Metro Area album will not become another Chinese Democracy.