Miss Kittin

Miss Kittin may be a serial collaborator, but it's only because her sense of ambition is too large to tackle alone. When the French electro-clasher isn't releasing records with Felix da Housecat, Golden Boy or the Hacker, she's lending her voice to Chicks on Speed singles, crafting DJ mixes or covering artists like Serge Gainsbourg and Primal Scream. But Calling from the Stars, her third solo LP (and sixth overall), finds Miss Kittin creating her most ambitious and independent-minded work yet. A sprawling 23-track set, Calling from the Stars is Miss Kittin's first full-length composed without a co-writer. Splitting the collection between vocal-led electro-pop and icy, ethereal (mostly) instrumentals, Miss Kittin fills the listener's head with a spectrum of musical modes, including spacey pop ("Bassline"), chorus-heavy Goldfrapp slink ("What to Wear") and chopped-up soundscapes ("Silver Lake"). On Calling from the Stars, Miss Kittin's ambition comes off as both a blessing and hindrance; it's a cycle of ideas that unendingly feel very close to wearing out its welcome.