Sun Electric

Long out of print, Present was Sun Electric's penultimate album and one of their best, a spellbinding fusion of ambient swirl and rhythmic precision. Brainier than most chill-out, Present's pinwheeling shapes and three-dimensional textures can be mind-bendingly psychedelic, but never excessively; even their most outer electronic odysseys are carefully controlled. Cuts like "Parallax" suggest that, with vocals, they could've been Underworld. Ahead of its time in '96, Present still sounds like a sympathetic message from the future.