Respected as a producer of house music for a number of years now, it has taken Michigan's Matthew Dear some time to actually get round to releasing his first long player. The result is that rare thing - an excellent techno album. The key to 'Leave Luck To Heaven's success lays in Dear's canny ear for a pop tune allied with a slightly melancholic late night ambience. 'Fex' is reminiscent of 'Self Abuse' by The Aloof, another exponent of drama beneath the processed beats. Dear generally keeps the arrangements uncluttered, all use of repetition controlled. 'In Unbending' is inventive and multi-layered, 'Dog Days' and 'It's Over Now' are playful without ever becoming mere dancefloor fillers and on 'Reason And Responsibility' the rhythms are tight and the mood is haunting. Music for the head as much as it is for the feet.