Solid State Alone

Former indie-rocker and Chicago native Brian Burkhard offers playfully inventive lo-fi electronica with his Echolalia debut. The effort, driven by Casio, found sounds, and creative instrumentation, explores the more whimsical side of post-rock-meets-electronica. There’s also a dash of pop smarts to the proceedings. This is a good listen, and appealingly rhythmic (particularly on rave-worthy numbers like “Discorvo” and “Korgouski”), but Burkhard’s sublime cleverness lies in the samples embedded in the tracks. “Illbledon” uses a pro tennis match, “810iRu” hinges on a repetitive Willy Wonka fragment, and “Insider” steals some narration from actor Jonathan Pryce. There are also some trip-hoppy and even folky touches throughout. Solid State Alone is fun, not too heady, brightly inventive bedroom electronica. – Erik Hage