As we begin a new decade, something tells me that independently produced electronic music may become a dominating force. The mysterious artist Bear Like Mouse may well be the full embodiment of this expanding musical niche, as his debut album This Minus Okay is an expansive, experimental collection of spacious electronic instrumentation coupled with atmospheric vocals and emotionally-charged, hard-hitting lyricism. Beyond its dark themes of loss, loneliness, inadequacy, fear and isolation, it is the intricate production detail and carefully orchestrated flow that makes the deeply personal This Minus Okay a truly unique journey, and the fact that it was essentially created in a dark basement adds immensely to the intrigue, giving the album a certain rawness and sense of authenticity.

The opening track "The Novocaine Institute of Des Moines" utilizes a single ukulele line which is repeated over and over again, eventually building into an explosion of distorted chaos and sets a dark, ominous mood. Midway through the track, vocals that sound as though they were recorded either underwater or in a sewer proclaim, "You're still stuck there/ But we're fine" as the music shifts into deeper layers, never losing pace with itself and its addictive ukulele melody. Initially, it is the little things that make this debut such a treat: tortured screams lingering behind the hushed acoustic guitar on the gorgeous "My Baby Takes The Morning Train Part 1", a subtle rap sample that gives way to an electronic xylophone beneath the atmospheric synth on album standout "Definite Hemography", the steady build and eventual raindrop xylophone on the accessible "Don't Worry; I'll Save Us All", or the echoing electronic vocals that pay homage to Carol King as well as the focused trip-hop drums on the hypnotic, industrial grind track "Jail Cell 59, San Antonio." The latter concludes with an understated choir note that blends perfectly into the far-east scented flute intro of the massive centerpiece "Ikiru."

The album's first half succeeds by leaps and bounds, leading into a decisively more challenging second half. "Having Trouble" shifts the mood immediately with its raucous drum machine beat which combines with a startling rocket ship synth screech and haunting electronic keyboards above nightmarish lyrical imagery ("Everything went suddenly quiet/ And black skin hung down from the sky.") The title track builds patiently behind some of the prettiest guitar repetition here, while "I Was Told These Are Sleeping Pills" feels like the foreboding soundtrack to a sunrise drenched in paranoia, culminating in an eerie organ and crickets-in-the-night outro.

Still, the album's greatest strengths continue to lie in its emotional transitions, especially from the gutwrenching "My Baby Takes the Morning Train Part 3" as it gives way to the soft, calming "This Fur Falls In The Snow." The mood shift here is comparable to what I imagine it might feel like to have your heart ripped from your chest and then to lie down in a puffy snow drift, watching the blood discolor the snow in slow motion before it turns back to white again before your eyes. "Fur" ends with a whimper- is this a cathartic surrender or an acceptance of fate, or better yet, a hidden gleam of hope? In fact, thematically "Fur" could have served well as the closing track here, but as strong as it is musically, that would have been a strange manner in which to end an album with such broad ambition.

Instead, we get the 12-minute epic "The Sky is High and the Empress is Far", which is layered with a vast array of musical elements over its steady center and stunning crescendo. It is the perfect summation of an album that drips with uncertainty, remorse and even resentment, but its poignant vibraphone notes through the conclusion actually offer a calm-after-the-storm inkling of hope, and for those who give up there, another option is provided, as a heavenly female vocal begs us to "fall asleep." After the track collapses brilliantly back onto itself and concludes,it's worth going back to "Novocaine" for another full listen if you have an hour to spare. With This Minus Okay, Bear Like Mouse has created an album that is more about the journey and the sum of its parts than its individual pieces, and it is an astonishing listen when given the patience necessary to fully appreciate and understand it. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.