Caretaker’s been cleaning out his closet this year. The always prolific Leyland Kirby has been on quite a mean streak. He already unearthed his awesome V/VM project for a “partial flashback” of The Death of Rave, as well as releasing a 12″ for Apollo and a free, three hour 40th birthday present for everyone entitled We Drink To Forget the Coming Storm. Now, we get this – the fourth installment in Kirby’s excellent Intrigue & Stuff series, out now on the artist’s own History Always Favours the Winners label.

Kirby starts off with a shock here – opener “Locked Into Situations” is trapped in its own complex designs, and succeeds at bringing you right to the threshold of intensity (in attack and texture) and beauty (in melody and structure). The middle section sucks listeners into a foggily pulsing space. “Night Owls” practically forgets any rhythmic structure in its pursuit of mood, though it manages to build with more intensity than the surrounding tracks.

Real intrigue is saved for the final synth odyssey. The aptly-titled “Wanting an Infinite Beyond” taps into the yearning that characterizes some of Kirby’s best ambient work. Impossibly shrouded utopian visions are manifested in strange, sweeping gestures, outstretched arms reaching for something they know isn’t there. As far as Kirby can recognize, however, they keep reaching, just long enough for a stuttering, half-beat to come up through the bottom, as he makes his graceful, temporary exit.