Fog, aka Andrew Broder, has always been an enigmatic figure in the music industry. Starting out with some unusual, but still relatively conventional low-fi turntable sounds, he's noted for having made an abrupt left-turn and producing bizarre avant-garde music that at points degenerated into a giant harmonic mess, yet still was oddly listenable and critically acclaimed.

"Hummer" is the latest effort from Fog, an EP which he insists will be his last release on the Ninja Tune label. Difficulties with the business side of his music aside; this is still a release that is as interesting as it is esoteric. There are echoes of the earlier side of his work strewn about here, but for the most part the music is cryptic, obtuse, and inaccessible. In other words, this music is just how I like my music to be.

The opening track, Whom That Hits Walls is a good introduction to the sound of Fog. Starting off with what sounds like a clown honking a horn, and then supplemented by some percussion played in an intentionally sloppy punk style, the song already sounds bizarre enough, sort of like something that Mr Bungle might try their hand at. Then the lyrics kick in, which consist primarily of nonsensical rambling run-on sentences quickly fired out without a breath being taken. At the end of each "verse", the flow of the song is disrupted by a series of random-sounding electronic noises. The overall effect of all this is that the song sounds utterly chaotic, yet also bizarre enough to make you listen.

The next song after this, the title track, forgoes the exuberant anarchy of the opening track, opening with a much slower series of pitch-shifted tones and reversed drum beats. Again, the lyrics are completely absurd, but they're delivered as if they were sombre, meaningful messages. The climax of the song, where Broder sings the words "sprinkler system in a thunderstorm" over and over, see him trading chaos for beauty, and he achieves it brilliantly.

The rest of the EP doesn't quite measure up to the excellent two opening tracks, but it doesn't serve up any stinkers, and the variety of music that Fog tackle is amazing. From the instrumental segue of Not Every Goddamn Little Thing You Do Needs A Title, to the acoustic ballad of Cockeyed Cookie Pusher, which is surprising with its poignancy and emotional power. It's nothing new, but the genuineness with which the lyrics are delivered is refreshing in an era of a million radio-friendly acoustic ballads.

Part of the appeal of Fog is how the music is impossible to explain properly on paper. Merely using words to describe the music doesn't do it justice, it has to be heard to be understood. This may be their final release on Ninja Tune, but I really hope that this isn't the last we hear from Fog.