Digitalism

With the rise of the Ed Banger label (Justice, SebastiAn, Feadz) and the renewed interest in Daft Punk, France’s influence on dance music is back in the spotlight after a shaky introduction to the new millennium. Though they’re not French, German duo Digitalism (Jens Moelle and Ismail Tuefekci, who belong to the equally vital Kitsuné crew) will certainly fool those unfamiliar with their robotic hybrid of house and rock. Though they earned their stripes with club bangers like "Zdarlight” and "Jupiter Room,” both of which fittingly book-end the album, Idealism could even fool some of the production team’s long-time fans, considering the heavier rock slant. You hate to go there but Moelle and Tuefeckci sample new rave with the dance floor-geared "Pogo” (which mirrors Klaxons’ collab with the Chemicals) but they do it well. They also break out a similar electro house assault as Justice with "The Pulse” and the hip-hop frenzied "Homezone,” which slices and dices party rhymes at a breakneck pace. Unlike DJ Mehdi’s lackadaisical full-length, Digitalism’s ambition to sample a diverse platter isn’t as much a distraction as it is them putting on a clinic. While nothing can quite compensate for the tedious "rockage” of "I Want I Want,” Idealism slides into the summer of 2007 nicely alongside the Justice and Simian Mobile Disco LPs, as well as that Daft Punk tour that will blow all of our minds.