Even with his release history approaching a full decade, Andy Stott has rarely strayed from a limited range of aesthetics; dank, dubby, and merciless are just about the only shades of techno the Mancunian deals with. Sure, Luxury Problems opener "Numb" introduced us to a new wrinkle in his smoldering fabric with its ghostly syllables, and "Violence", from the forthcoming Faith in Strangers LP, followed that idea into some unexpectedly straightforward territory. But little of that would foreshadow the title track from his next album, a brilliant curveball that hits places Stott never seemed to be aiming for.

"Faith in Strangers" pushes an unfamiliar depth and versatility into Stott's haunted electronics, and it suits him fantastically well. Everything is so wispy and luminescent, it's almost romantic. Sounding like a distant radio broadcast, vocal collaborator Alison Skidmore harmonizes between skipping drum machine patterns and a hollowed-out bass tone ripped from Manchester's post-punk history. Underneath those palpable sounds is a wellspring of metaphysical resonance you could trace back to more than a few sources, but playing connect the dots would betray the song's significance. "Faith in Strangers" is a milestone in Stott's ongoing artistic growth, and with any luck, it might also stand as a sign pointing to new directions he'll soon explore.