Discodeine
Discodeine
Dirty / Brumby Music
Smash together an assortment of super cool music styles from Chicago house to bring modulation to kraut-disco and mascarpone – with a dash of voodoo – and you have the sublime sonics of Discoderine. This Parisian duo sound like a pharmaceutical, and sound out the right prescription too. They just… throb. Homo-Compatible is a rhythmic tightening of electro sophistication while Antiphonie is classical yet contemporary, a choral string piece that elevates this album to a whole new level. The only letdown is Jarvis Cocker from Pulp fame. He sounds like a whining try-hard David Bowie and detracts from the one track he appears on. Otherwise this album is ace. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Depeche Mode
Remixes 2 81-11
EMI
Depeche Mode have been involved in electronic music for so long they’ve had plenty of time to see the phenomenon of the remix evolve…this album brings together M83, UNKLE, Stargate and Jacques Lu Cont. With a stellar cast you’d expect more. Available as a 3 disc set for the most devoted fans, it features new and old songs, but the remixes don’t do justice to the newer tunes. Personal Jesus is the standout track on the album. The whole project has a dark feel to it, Depeche Mode made grimier by a bit of dub and grunge being mixed in. – Paul Van Leishout Hunt
LMFAO
Sorry for the Party Rocking
Universal
The party rockers are in the house tonight (and they’ve been here every night). This album is all about having a good time with cheeky rhymes over techno beats. Nobody’s partied like this since the Vega Boys were pumpin’ and everyone was jumpin’. The tunes could all blend into one as they sing about cars, girls, girls in cars, girls in bars and bars in cars. It could be taken as misogynistic but there is something in a band that has the lyric ‘Bring up another contestant, to take the downtown to see what I’ve been blessed with’. Shuffle along now. – Graeme Watson
Massivan
Family with 3 Hearts
One World Music
This is Massivan’s fourth album, a collection of jazzy house tunes with sultry vocals, the kind of thing that filled Chill Out compilations in the late ’90s. This is an album to drop on the stereo during the winter months and imagine you are somewhere sunnier and warmer. The strongest tracks are the ones featuring guest vocalist Jen – First Kiss and Blue Love, while 4 Generations features classically inspired violins – not often heard in house music. Bizarrely the weakest track on the album is the lead single 2 B @ 1 with the World which has an awkward vocal. – Graeme Watson
French Horn Rebellion
The Infinite Music of The French Horn Rebellion
EMI
French Horn Rebellion comprises brothers Robert and David Perlick-Molinari. David previously produced MGMT and Robert plays the French Horn. This is an album filled with indie disco gold, epic dance tunes that make you want to throw your hands in the air and jump around. These guys will be coming to a festival near you in the future. In between the slammin’ indie dance tunes are psychedelic ambient soundscapes. This is a solid album through all fourteen tracks. Also worth checking out are some of the boys’ recent remixes for OMD, Miami Horror and Andy Bell. – Graeme Watson
Kate Bush
The Director’s Cut
EMI
Here’s the premise: take two of your most classic albums – 1989’s The Sensual World and 1993’s The Red Shoes – and rework them together to create a third album. The result is a sublime piece of brilliance. Bush, undisputedly, is a brilliant and accomplished music maker. What she does here is take away the seemingly dated ’80s sound of these two previous albums and create something really quite palatable and unique. Stand out track is lead single Deeper Understanding – this song is incredible and heartfelt and aches in the most remarkable way. If your collection lacks the two previous albums, don’t be surprised to love them straight out. They are awkward in retrospect. But Director’s Cut makes it much better… much much better. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Beyonce
4
Unlike anything else in the charts at the moment, Beyonce’s fourth album, 4, has a unique sound. The opening track 1+1 is a slow number, not her usual upbeat kick-off to an album. Gradually it picks up the tempo but doesn’t offer much variation from track to track. With her trademark vocals she moves through different genres but maintains an ’80s pop sound mixed with a ’60s soulful beat. The tracks from the second disc make the album worthwhile, with club remixes of Run the World. I wanted this to make me lurch up out of my seat, instead I shrugged my shoulders. Not a complete fail, but not Sasha’s best. – Ollie Pincott
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