Glitch. It happens to us all: things don't work properly, someone is late, something is missing. A few musicians have taken this concept and make it into a curious art form, but The Housebound Spirit represents a more personal glitch. The album was recorded at home by Leafcutter John while in the grip of a severe illness brought on after he was mugged. He was trapped at home for months, barely able to go out or even speak. The music he created while trapped seems to reflect his awful state; there are patches of noisy chaos, patterns of broken, irregular beats, empty spaces and morbidly themed songs ("if you have an enemy then I should have one", "show them no mercy"). The only light spots are "For Two", on which a clarinettist friend visits for a melodious duet, and "Escape from the Globus Playpen" which has a ,um, playful air. This album, as a document of a (thankfully temporary) debilitating mental illness, stands apart from the what-does-this-button-do mentality that makes a lot of glitch techno and IDM curiously bland and soulless. Even in its depths, it is full of life. Give The Housebound Spirit a spin, but don't expect a joyride.