By ROBERT DUGUAY

As diverse as the Rhode Island music scene is, there are a few styles that are somewhat underrepresented. The rock & roll realm within this community is strong, and the same can be said for the singer-songwriter, jazz, hip hop, folk, blues and the heavy metal aspects of it. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for electronica. While there are talented artists who are either excellent at DJing EDM tunes or creating their own jams and performing them at numerous venues around “The Ocean State,” there are only a few of these folks exhibiting this particular genre. With this in mind, it was very refreshing to stumble upon Blacklight Beat Patrol’s debut full-length release “Faulty Uplink” that came out back on August 28.

The creative nucleus behind this project is courtesy of Scott Corneau, who originally started his music career as a bassist and playing in bands like the Massachusetts based alt-rock act Running With Scizzors. Being influenced by the likes of Gorillaz, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode and The Chemical Brothers, which are all noticeable within the album, he decided to pursue this artistic outlet. I’m glad he did because I really dig the tracks within “Faulty Uplink.” There’s a nice variety that’s present with each of the songs, it doesn’t seem like he’s deliberately putting himself in a box like some electronic music creators usually do. It’s not a blatant ripoff of his influences, Corneau puts forth his own signature approach and it makes the listening experience intriguing and adventurous.

It also needs to be mentioned that “Faulty Uplink” is a completely DIY effort. Along with handling the songwriting and instrumentation, Corneau did the mixing, mastering, producing and cover art. The art is actually what initially gravitated me to checking out the album, the detail is incredible and I love stuff that leans towards science-fiction and cyberpunk. For the highlights off of this release, I’d have to pick “Osmotica Degredata,” “Spectrum Incredible,” “Up, Down, Blue and Pretty” and “Winning is Overrated.” I always suggest listening to an album from start to finish before gauging my thoughts on it, and I think doing so with this album is the best way to go due to the cohesion and flow of the song sequence.

To listen to ‘Faulty Uplink,” log on to Blacklight Beat Patrol’s Bandcamp page and/or Soundcloud page at either blacklightbeatpatrol.bandcamp.com or soundcloud.com/blacklightbeatpatrol. If Spotify or Apple Music are your preferred platforms, you can look the album up on either of those as well. If you’re looking to check out something more recent from Corneau’s project, his single “Sundays and Flapjacks” that came out on December 8 is an absolute banger. If you’re looking to see what else he’s up to with Blacklight Beat Patrol, check out his website at blacklightbeatpatrol.com. In the meantime, give this album I just wrote about a listen and dive into some really cool structures and arrangements.