Few people could get away with choosing the picture of a rugged bass speaker as the cover of their album and naming it 'The Killer'. But then, Rene Pawlowitz a.k.a Shed is not anybody, and certainly not your average techno producer.

His two previous albums for Ostgut Ton, 'Shedding The Past' (2008) and 'The Traveller' (2010), are widely considered as two of the past few years' defining electronic music albums, while his single releases under guises such as Equalized, Head High, WK7 and Wax have been spectacularly successful at capturing the essence of rough, chord-driven Berlin techno.

Released on Modeselektor's 50 Weapons imprint, 'The Killer' certainly goes a long way of re-uniting the two sides of Shed, the full-length experimentalist and the single-dropping crowd-pleaser. It might not be quite the techno album some fans have been hoping for, but it is a far more floor-oriented affair then his deep, breakbeat-dissecting debut or the experimental sketchbook that constituted his sophomore album.

Tracks like 'Silent Witness', 'I Come By Night' or 'Ride On' wouldn't seem out of place on one of his Hardwax-backed vinyl releases and show off a newly found penchant for thick sawtooth leads. Shed's experimental treatment of broken beats is still a defining element, yielding especially impressive results in combination with his inimitable way of compressing and distorting drum sounds. The album's more sentimental moments, notably closing track 'Follow The Leader' and interlude 'Gas Up', might feel a little naive and slightly at odds with the album's presumed concept, but as a whole 'The Killer' is the work of a producer at the height of his prowess.