Sometimes I wonder how an electronic release becomes mainstream. Really. I mean, we know that Keith Flint's video freak show is what broke the Prodigy, but what broke the Chemical Brothers? Sure, Dig Your Own Hole was a great release, but how about folks like Amon Tobin and Photek, who have to face that they'll never have a smash hit "just because," regardless of the fact that they're two of the most innovative artists in the history of music?

At any rate, Roni Size has just magically caught on, and his new record with Reprazent, New Forms, has been released with perfect timing. Those kids watching MTV's Amp, reading Spin and digging on their local alternative station will find comfort in its extreme "differentness" from anything else they've heard. And for those kids, New Forms will be amazing. To you and me, it doesn't really get exciting until the second half of disc one.

Size doesn't start out much of anything that hasn't already been done this year. He's got the stumbling, off-kilter beats, moog sounds, thumpity basslines and he occasionally gets some faceless waif to moan over his tracks. The first few tracks sound like Phil Collins' drum machine circa "In The Air Tonight" on high-speed dubbing. But on the latter tracks, Size gets vocalists and truly delivers what he came to bring. The record comes to life with "Heroes," a soundtrack to one of those early morning, half-conscious dreams. "Share the Fall (Full Vocal Mix)" comes on like Diana Ross and the Supremes in outer space, "Watching Windows" is a scratch odyssey that spins your skull, and "Morse Code" is the theme to a James Bond film from 2016.

The high point of the record comes with the second disc, which believes in blending the supernatural with acid beats that stick. In fact, this disc is like an entirely seperate album alltogether. It's influenced by jazz more than wack funk and "Hi-Potent" is the best example of this with its spaztic bassline and borderline freestyle boogie.

So, yeah. You could probably get something better for your money, but if you give New Forms some room to breathe and skip the first half hour, you'll like what you hear.

-Ryan Schreiber