[wimpLink artistId="29681109"]Batu[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="17582995"]Timedance[/wimpLink] has become a go-to imprint for fans of minimal, abstract club music, much like Hessle Audio and Livity Sound, two of the other labels that have released records by the Bristol-based producer. His debut album, arriving nearly a decade after his first singles, has its share of skeletal, bass-heavy club tracks, but it also stretches beyond that mode into more atmospheric creations. Following two beatless warm-ups, "Convergence" is a mesmerizing web of flickering percussion that leads into the grey-area drum'n'bass of "Even Here." "Atavism" balances a strong, footwork-like drum pattern with levitating synths, like a dance routine on a space station. "Solace" is a sort of weightless R&B ballad featuring [wimpLink artistId="7916541"]serpentwithfeet[/wimpLink], whose delicate vocals calmly croon "Don't let 'em watch you sleep" over crystalline synths. "Spectral Hearts" builds up a skipping, post-dubstep beat pattern and the synth textures ripple off of it like tiny raindrops washing a lotus flower. "Always There" has clear, koto-like melodies and shuffling, obscured movements that never quite land at a proper beat. Pairing fluid motions with precisely crafted sound design, [wimpLink albumId="219392214"]Opal[/wimpLink] reveals the depths of [wimpLink artistId="29681109"]Batu[/wimpLink]'s emotions. ~ Paul Simpson