Now that we’re halfway through the second decade of the 2000s, it seems appropriate to look back at the early part of the century with some amber-colored lens fondness. In the world of electronic music, it felt like some new exciting style or variation was dropping every week. The 800-pound gorilla of that time was Guillermo Scott Herren, better known as Prefuse 73. While his 2001 debut, Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives, was a critical and commercial success, his 2003 follow-up, One Word Extinguisher, was the album that shifted the landscape. The glitchy, cut-up approach made Prefuse 73 one to watch, and Herren capitalized on that momentum with a fairly steady stream of records under his Prefuse 73 alias, as well as with his band, Savath y Savalas, and a host of other collaborations and one-offs. But while there were some subsequent classic moments spread around, none of his other records were as front-to-back top-notch as One Word Extinguisher.

Though not as prolific as he once was, Herren has continued to work under the Prefuse 73 moniker and has now released his eighth studio full-length, Rivington Não Rio (Temporary Residence Ltd.). While the record doesn’t grab you by the throat, there’s no mistaking the fact that Herren seems revived and refreshed in a way that seemed missing from past outings. It isn’t One Word Part Two but there’s a focus and playfulness in the songs and construction that keeps the proceedings buoyant. It’s not just a display of technique—there are proper songs throughout—and instead of just cutting up vocals, Herren invited guests along. Rob Crow of Pinback, Busdriver, Milo, Sam Dew, and Helado Negro all take a turn on the mic, and as a result, the album is split between skewed sunshine pop and soul-kissed songs, with “140 Jabs Interlude,” featuring Milo & Busdriver, being the one nod to Prefuse’s hip-hop leanings. With the instrumental songs taking a somber, mellow approach, it’s almost an even split between the introverted and the extroverted.

The production style on Rivington Não Rio is much less glitchy and ADD than that with which Prefuse 73 is most commonly associated. There are certainly those style elements, but Herren is generally comfortable with letting the tracks breathe. But if things seem like they’re getting a bit stagnant, he makes a well-placed edit or shift in mood, so some cuts seem like a bunch of different songs strung together like a mini-score. With the entire record coming in under 45 minutes and most songs barely breaking five minutes, the “extended” run time is relative. If nothing else, it just highlights Herren’s ability to draw in the listener and keep things focused. In a way, this record is a distillation of everything that has preceded it. While Herren is a man that doesn’t stay in one place for too long, here’s hoping he stays on this path.