New Words, New Worlds

The Cast : Albums

The Bel Air Lip Bomb, Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe, The Clause, Gruff Rhys, Kelora, Polygonia, Le Volume Courbe

The Cast : EPs and Singles

Asgeir, Common Saints, Joe Goddard and Florious, Soft Cotton County, Sour Ops

Dream Horizons : Polygonia

Best for : PhD music students

There's dance music and intelligent dance music (IDM). And then there's Polygonia's 'Dream Horizons' which aims for the person who wants to build up an encyclopedic understanding of what electronic music can do with rhythms, pulses and beats. This is dance music for the PhD graduation party, not the GCSE Year 11 prom.

This is 69 minutes of mind tickling sound that is probably 20-25 minutes too long for some casual listeners. It draws inspiration from the pioneers of electronic music, their exploratory improvisations and, occasionally, the structures of jazz to make abstract compositions that open up new worlds.

Experiencing these pieces is a little like wandering around a modern art gallery, admiring the colours while not quite understanding what it's all about. You can still take pleasure from it, but you might quail at the thought of spending all day there. This is music that sounds good, very good, an album to seek out the limits and full potential of your hifi and headphones.

Is it really dance music? It's true that it's fairly abstract, but I think it is. If you're looking for Chic or a burst of Northern Soul, look elsewhere. But if you were to visit the contemporary dance company Ballet Rambert you'd find it the perfect accompaniment to their movements, strengths and emotions.

There's a run of tracks at the centre of this album that lost me a little - from 'Metaphysical Scribbles' to 'Hidden Blue'. These tracks are stripped back as if they're playing with just a single element of the music. As a result, something like 'Metaphysical Scribbles' feels more like a promising backing track, the shell of an empty construction, bearing the same relationship to a finished product as an architect's plans bear to a fully built house. They lack the warmth of the opening track 'Crystal Valley' and the spellbinding run of tracks from 'Mindfunk' that brings the album to a close.

Persevere though, because 'Mindfunk' works its obsessive funk deep into your skull. 'Twisted Colours' has the spectacular freedom of effortless perpetual motion. 'Whirlwind of Hearts' achieves a sublime balance between Royksopp type melody and something more improvised and meandering. 'Essential Breath' which brings the album to a close also returns us to music as a living, breathing, human activity.

Every now and then, it's worth stretching yourself with music. It reminds you of the vast inventiveness and scope that could be within your reach. Polygons provide the opportunity for that.

Taster Track : Whirlwind of Hearts