Joakim

An unassuming, bearded studio boffin, Joakim may not look like a cutting-edge arbiter of dancefloor cool, but in recent years, this producer, DJ and Tigersushi label man has become a regular fixture on the DJ charts of Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco and such. His brilliant ‘I Wish You Were Gone’ (The Rapture if they were sad, lonely, funky robots) was one of 2006’s slow-burning anthems. However, the alt.disco underground may be a bit perturbed by ‘Monsters…’. It’s a sprawling hour-plus mix of sonic gold and sketchy self-indulgence, taking in everything from striking avant-garde piano pieces and the eccentric, Franz-like disco-punk of ‘Rocket Pearl’, to noodling electro-flecked post-rock. NME’s response? More Gallic shrug than ooh la la.

Tony Naylor

5 out of 10