New Highpoint Lowlife MP3s from Mandelbrot, Marcia Blaine

The new album on the Highpoint Lowlife label, Magnetism, That Electricity, is less a various-artists collection than it is a set of four individual EPs — one on each side of a double vinyl set (also available via DRM-free digital retail and as a CDR). Two free full-song downloads on the label’s website, highpointlowlife.com, provide enticing entry points. Mandelbrot Set, as represented by “Astronomy and Allied Sciences 1b,” moves from a monastic drone to a thick slurry, from a pulsing swath of minimalism to a layered embrace, packed with variously paced strings, like some Gypsy ritual (MP3). “The Ratio,” by the Marcia Blaine School for Girls, is plucky and rhythmic to the swampy vibe of Mandelbrot — a blippy confection of phaser sound effects, stereoscopic synth tones, and virtual-waterdrop percussion (MP3). Also featured on the album are tracks from Fisk Industries and Village Orchestra.