Convex

Convex, the third album from San Francisco-based producer Nym, whose more well-known knob-fiddling contemporaries include Pretty Lights, Bonobo and Little People, is an obscure trip-hop gem. Head-nodding, pensive and mostly instrumental, Convex recalls Little People’s 2006 album, Mickey Mouse Operation, and it falls right in line with the rest of Nym’s excellent catalog (see 2013’s Trembling in the Stone and 2011’s Warm Blooded Lizard). The record sounds fussed over and immaculate, from the crisply captured drums to the lush string and horn arrangements. Odd samples of old-timey cinema pop up. Several of the tracks, including the dreamy soundscapes in “Sleep” and “Come Back,” have a world-music flavor. And as with most of Nym’s music, many of the impressible melodies on Convex are delivered by female vocalists. See, for example, the Orient-tinged “Wavey Blue,” featuring Spherelet. Another clear highlight is “Well Tempered,” built entirely around a mesmerizing orchestral loop. Listening through headphones is candy for the ears.