Time Flying Beats

In the continued spirit of the freakier meditative releases that have helped define his label (Leaving Records), Matthew “Matthewdavid” McQueen opens up a wormhole on this collection of dub samples, twisted trip-hop meditations and soul-punk beat-jams. Time Flying Beats plays like a drug-den dance party, ushering in moments of skewered pop nostalgia on “Time Flying,” which bastardizes the “time flies” ending line from the Tears for Fears classic “Head Over Heels.” A more fluid beat comes right on its heels with the dark stomp of “Contemporary,” one of the record’s less erratic cuts. Segued carefully together like a mixtape, McQueen’s beats meander and moan, igniting dance-floor tsunamis and head-scratching spazz-pop vignettes in equal measure. The album’s appeal lies in both its provocative and innocuous natures, offering the strange audio dichotomy of being appropriate to turn on for background ambiance, and as a soundtrack to a dangerous night on the town.