One of Circus Company’s all-time favorite artists and extended label member The Mole returns a proper presentation of his album The River Widens. Originally a limited, cassette-only release via fellow Canadian Eddie C’s Red Motorbike. Never one to shy away from synth deep dives, or raw sample flip collaging, this collection of 21 works checks all the boxes. Ambient trippers to straight up neck-snapping instrumental beats. Not forgetting tastes of the more uptempo, highly-assured and hypnotic dancefloor feels, the reason the world has come to love The Mole. Moments of casual chillin’ are interspersed with effortless, emotive angles, some evoking the charm of his Little Sunshine release for the label in 2017. “X-pert Profat” opens the set with sly statements that give way to relaxed and subtle keys over gentle, midtempo rhythms. Things switch up nicely into easy, Northwest Coast boogie-meets-beatdown feels in “Break For Ma”, followed by a solid array of almost Jaylib-schooled boom bap twists, like the aptly-titled “Drums 2002” and “Jo Barker”. Ambient cuts like “AR Day” and “New Family” offer a refreshing tap of the brakes, setting the scene for the gorgeous, Jarre-esque “Weak Stranger”. You also get treated to “Repepepater”‘s nod to Detroit house, urban-mode Balearic feels on “They Work For Mr. O”, and sneak attack lo-fi future funk in the form of “UFOs Over Egypt”, with Montreal co-pilot Cristobal on a wild shisha-lit vox narrative, earlier versions of which have blessed many of Circus Company’s comrades’ DJ sets, from Dave Aju to Vincent Lemieux. The River Widens expands beautifully on the breadth of unique musical directions. Also features Joli B and Ted Pilsner. Double LP version includes download code.