Train Train, 16 Samples Long

Do the reputedly chaotic rhythms of drum’n’bass seem too synchronized for your tastes? Do quirky sound bites bore you, especially when they appear atop thoughtlessly danceable beats. Then Chessie, born Stephen Gardner, is your man. After upending the guitar strumming that opens the album Signal Series (Dropbeat) with a rising tide of synthesized tonal baubles, Chessie never quite restores the album’s equilibrium — and the listener is all the more fortunate for it. Tracks layer so much field-recording material (trains are a fave), analog musicianship and digital percussion that no single entry proves characteristic of the record as a whole. Nonetheless, a languid, song-like feel informs much of the album, especially on the brief, Eno-esque “Landjet” and slowly warping “Shasta.” If you can’t find the full-length, keep your eyes out for a 7″ that Chessie released earlier, featuring two songs (“Approach Limited” and “The Last Lie I Ever Told”) destined for Signal Series.