Monika B„rchen: Songs for Bruno, Knut & Tom celebrates Monika's tenth year of releasing music that's largely electronic and often created by women; it's entirely thoughtful and unique with a collection of previously unreleased tracks from the label's roster. Songs such as Quarks' "Willkommen," Lile's "Sticky Images," and Michaela Meli n's "Locke Pistole Kreuz" define the delicate, feminine electronic music that Monika is often known for, but the collection goes wider and deeper than that: Eglantine Gouzy & Landini's "L.A." offers electronic pop that's catchy but never obnoxious, and Iris' "Fever" and Mico's "I See a Soul" deliver subtle sensuality. Rosario Bl‚fari's "Verdad" is punk en Espa ol that goes even farther afield of the usual Monika sound, and the acoustic pop of Masha Qrella's "Goodnight Lovers" is so simple and straightforward that it's an automatic standout. On the other hand, intricate instrumentals like Robert Lippok's "Heart of Nuut Picked by the Crows of Neu Koeln," and Max Punktezahl's "Dashes" reflect the label's commitment to more strictly electronic artists as well. Not surprisingly, though, two of the collection's best moments come from its stalwarts: Monika founder Gudrun Gut's "Monika in Polen" shows the same gift for creating vital atmospheres that she did on her long-awaited debut album I Put a Record On, but with a more light-hearted vibe, as she turns chirping birds, a Polish folk song, and rounded beats into a playful, head-nodding track. Longtime Monika artist Barbara Morgenstern turns in another highlight with "Wilderness," a subtly elegant meditation on nature vs. nurture and instinct vs. civilization. Despite the comp's diversity, all of its tracks sound completely natural together, a sure sign that Monika is doing something right. ~ Heather Phares

Wajid Yaseem's work over the years, both as backing performer and solo artist, has covered an impressively wide range of work -- it's no stretch to say that England provides a ready ferment for an artist equally entranced by Pakistani music, dub, and punk, among many other things. Flicknives continues this blend to excellent effect -- after his initial turns on NovaMute, this debut effort on Quatermass helps to further that label's increasing stature. Opening song "Evox," for instance, could in many hands simply be cod-Indian drone but here restores and extends the lost power of mid-'90s isolationist performers in combination with the haunting flow of strings and guitars -- and that it then leads to the brutal techno/feedback riff of "Middle Finger Motif" is all the more captivating. While the album is definitely all of a piece -- tending toward the darker and more ominous -- it makes the variety on display all the more involving, drawing connections between many different approaches effortlessly. Thus, there's Olga Naiman's semi-spoken word vocal on "Post Modern Martyrs" over a deep, brusque hip-hop crawl, electronic distortion adding to the murky chaos, or the soft chimes (real bells? electronics?) set against the brisker tech-step beats of "Paper Veins," all while a deep bassline snarls beneath it all. The glowering moods throughout suggest both Scorn's astringent sense of doom (check the combination of electronic growl and crisp beats on the title track) and Yaseem's former employers Fun-da-Mental, who never shirked away from cranking up the volume in chaotic fashion. Though the album doesn't maintain a full involvement to the end, the massive beats of "Some Dirt You Just Can't Wash Away" help provide a good final kick. ~ Ned Raggett