Asa Breed (2007)

While Matthew Dear's second album will likely wind up under the ''dance'' blanket at your local record store, Asa Breed could more helpfully be described as spoken-word techno. The Detroit DJ and musician doesn't so much sing as intone over percolating, minimalist electro-pop that would be equally at home shaking up subwoofers in a nightclub or coffee mugs at a downtown cybercafe. His baritone musings can be grim, but thrown up against the right, shiny rhythm — as on ''Elementary Lover'' — Dear joyously defies categorization. DOWNLOAD THIS: Elementary Lover

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