[[nakedlunch]]

Kowton’s development has seen him move from dubstep-in-a-vacuum reductions to emaciated house à la Kassem Mosse before arriving at his own peculiar but instantly recognizable blend of exhausted, stepping house. Joe Cowton’s music has a dreary facade of permanent circles under the eyes, fatigued muscle movements, a bounce and a swing that has more in common with sleepwalking than dancing. It’s always fascinating to see what what the Bristol producer will do next, from the high-strung elasticity of his last record on Idle Hands (“She Don’t Jack”) to career highlight “Beneath Radar” on Peverelist’s new Livity imprint. His latest comes on Irish narcotics dealer [nakedlunch] — a perfect fit for his sound when you think about it — and Cowton blesses the label with some of his most complex and detailed tracks yet.

His tracks are still eerily spare, but here they’re lit up periodically by uncharacteristically vivid flashing chords and silky streams of synth. The eight-minute “Keep Walking” pulls itself forward wearily like the title suggests, a sort of deadened boogie that laboriously trawls through a catchy descending progression. But the track is nudged along by lush swells of color and melody — not the kind of thing you necessarily expect from a Kowton track. With the same idea in mind, “Show Me” is built on a bed of familiarly snapping percussion and drilling sub-bass — and sultry vocal snippets — but a breakdown sends it hurtling into lush dub techno territory, the firm and skeletal structure suddenly bouncing off a rubbery and tactile foundation. If you weren’t already in the Kowton camp — and you should be by this point — the way he continues to take his core sound and tinker with it is endlessly enticing. If you don’t believe me, all you have to do is take a listen to his all-originals mix he disseminated at the beginning of August — and for a DJ-friendly snapshot of his greatness, this single does just fine too.