[Eglo Records]

By now the name Floating Points probably rings a bell even for those living under rocks. Within a year of arriving on the scene he’s been feted by music fans and critics of all stripes, storming best of lists with four spectacular releases for R2 Records, Planet Mu, and his own Eglo Records. It’s hardly surprising, then, that Sam Shepherd’s first record of 2010 has admirers drooling. People’s Potential first appeared as a single-sided white label earlier this year, but those who waited (myself included) have been rewarded with full artwork and a second track, “Shark Chase.”

The title track plays with the sort of bumping grooves found on the Vacuum EP but rendered in acidic neon colors as droning notes decay all around. Synthetic meets organic as nimble piano arpeggios join the party, giving the tune an Innervisions-meets-boogie trajectory that seems ripe for dance floor destruction. “Shark Chase” is something else entirely: dark, muffled, lo-fi and loose enough to suggest it might be the product of a fortuitous improv session with the Floating Points Ensemble. Shepherd pits a massive, out-of-breath bass line that could have been part of Theo Parrish’s wobbliest productions against the jazzy thrusts of piano vamps and drum kit percussion (whose always present hi-hat is positively incisive) in a battle for control of the dance floor. Yet dancers are the winners here, if they can catch a breath from under all that smothering bass. Another home run for someone who seems keen to make 2010 just as big, if not bigger, than his breakout year.