Various

This series of electronic jazz compilations has been hugely successful in the past and has featured some of today's finest DJs showcasing their silky grooves. But as of late the compilation has been falling well short of expectations with the seventh issue being rather lacklustre and now this, the eighth offering, being rather average as well. A sign of a successful jazz and down-tempo compilation is when the tracks string along fluently and allow the listener to be absorbed by its hypnosis and this is where this edition fails. Cuts such as Moonstarr's "Dust" grab you by the heart and let you slip into a repetitive head-nodding motion with its thumping snare and skipping vocals - but such reactions do not often occur again. Instead the album consists more of bland, middle of the road tracks that tend to work in the background and never take centre stage. It's not that this eighth instalment of the Future Sounds of Jazz series is poor, its problem lies in the fact that it's average - coming from such a quality label as Compost this results in a disappointment.