Mr. Oizo

The man behind Flat Eric is back. Although the Jim Henson's Creature Shop puppet is absent from Stade 2's album artwork and promotional material, Mr. Oizo keeps his spirit alive with 13 bangers that would have the little yellow guy's head bobbing. Released one year after his first English language film (the polarizing Rubber), Mr. Oizo's fourth album is brimming with some of his most cinematic and majestic material to date. "Douche Beat," "EDN" and album opener "Introeil" boast Oizo's intrinsic sense of humour, working with vividly placed vocal samples, text-to-speech annotations and deadpan robotics. Building on fart-y bass lines and distorted 8-bit rhythms, Mr. Oizo decorates Stade 2 with multi-track synths and loops that never wear out their welcome. The remainder of the LP gets by with loads of aurally-pleasing sound bursts, complex rhythms and decaying tones, making it easy to either checkout or buy into the busy world of Mr. Oizo.