Creatures

On his third album, French producer Erwan Castex shows his roots as a filmmaker. We love the way Creatures plays out like a series of loosely connected vignettes. The eclectic album cuts from scene-setting synth drama of "(00)" and pulsing ambient ("Acid Reflux," featuring jazz trumpeter Toshinori Kondo) to celestial pomp and circumstance ("Ouija," which sounds like James Holden remixing Rustie). The National's Bryce Dessner lends bluesy licks to the surging "Elle," while singer Sea Oleena adds color to "Sir Orfeo," a swirl of jewel-encrusted cotton candy. Rone's stylistic risk-taking recalls '90s electronica, but the sounds are as modern as they come.