Planet High School, the whimsically-titled new album from Brooklyn-based producer and DJ Mux Mool (real name: Brian Lindgren), explores wonkiness in all its woozy glory. Filtered synths, lazily stretched drum loops, and clattering percussion rule the album, which might be better characterized as a sort of abstract beat tape: it’s entirely instrumental and rhythmic almost to a fault, something you can consistently nod your head to. On first blush, the influence of hip-hop beatsmiths such as J Dilla and Madlib spring to mind, but on further listening, the headphone-funk of the Neptunes and Timbaland seems to be closer to the heart of Lindgren’s twisty-turny scrawl. And the fusion doesn’t stop there – drum’n’bass a la Squarepusher, the repetition of the LA-style beat scene, and even a few disparate elements of UK dubstep make their way onto Planet High School. All of this is presented in ten immaculately mixed and mastered tracks (twelve if you count the bonus songs).

If it sounds crowded, well… it is, a bit. Lindgren has a steady hand, and certainly a knack for layering, but PHS often feels impatient and at times even overwrought. After the third scene-change in “Brothers,” you find yourself wishing everything would just, I dunno – chill out a little bit. Unlimited by instrumentation or paid studio time, electronic musicians are capable of covering as much sonic territory as they want. But the best ones are those who understand economy, who can turn a few proverbial fish and loaves into a whole universe. Some of Mool’s contemporaries (notably Britain’s Gold Panda and LA’s Teebs) have this down, and actually all of PHS’s best tracks seem to invoke this minimalism as well: the laidback, good-vibe pleasure of “Palace Chalice” and the “Hand on the Scantron” grows directly from their understated presentation. (Conversely, one of the album’s best tracks is the choppy, maximalist “Live at 7-11.”) Here’s hoping Lindgren’s next release thins out a bit.

4 / 5 bars