Record Rack

**** The Angel, “No Gravity,” Supa Crucial/New Line. It’s easy to see from this album why this transplant from Brooklyn has become one of the most respected figures on the L.A. electronic dance music scene. In an anyone-with-a-computer-can-play world marked by gimmicks and overkill, the Angel wields a deft hand in her tracks, letting beats insinuate rather than pounding them out, using space as part of the musical construction as well as sound, integrating vocals smoothly into the musical tracks and largely eschewing cheap-trick samples.

That’s no surprise to anyone familiar with her previous work-- under this name, as the dreamily soulful 60 Channels and in her jazz-tinged drum-and-bass Jaz Klash collaboration with England’s More Rockers team--as well as numerous remix projects.

Here all the elements come together, from the spacey drift of “Strange Times” to the shadowy lope of “Dark Days (Inner Power)” to the space-jazz fantasy “Stylin’ on the Beat.” Mystic and the Pharcyde’s Tre Hardson provide hip-hop poetry in their guest turns. Together it’s an accomplished collection recalling Massive Attack, but with an effectively lighter touch. The Angel plays a DJ set tonight at Sugar in Santa Monica.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.