Phasmid Her Friend The Blue Star

• Words: Vivian Host
• Label: Skylab Operations
• XLR8R Rating: /10

Phasmid is the alter ego of a civil rights lawyer and dad from Birmingham, Alabama who was inspired to make this album by Kraftwerk's The Man Machine, old analog gear he bought in high school, and cartoons set in outer space. Its unusual birth aside, Her Friend the Blue Star is a beautiful little record, full of sweet (but not sugary) electro gurgles, strange textures, and toothsome glitch that reminds of a young Aphex Twin without all the angst. Sealing the deal is a second disc, where Bochum Welt, Tim Koch, Isan and B. Fleischmann perform detailed remix duties on Phasmid's lilting bedtime stories.