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David Watkins

Digitalism

Idealism

(Astralwerks)

The unmistakable shadow of  Daft Punk  looms over proceedings here, and Digitalism - consisting of German duo Jens Moelle and Ismail Tuefekci - seem reluctant to venture beyond its silhouette for  most of their debut.

When they do, however, the results can be spectacular. That's not something you hear often when bands attempt to cross-over dance with indie, as anyone familiar with Apollo 440 can attest.

Such pursuits usually lead to dead ends, yet despite its dumb lyrics Pogo can easily lay claim to being one of the best tunes of the year. It meshes perfectly the duo's guitar rock and dance aspirations.

Elsewhere, the abrasive and metallic I Want, I Want is less successful, coming across as an

e-mailed version of the Hives.

When Digitalism aren't fusing their rock chops to dance beats in reverence to Daft Punk, they lean towards early Royksopp - best example of this is the elegantly  wispy Echoes.  In between, they seem happy to pay homage to their French inspirations - of which  The Pulse and the colossal Jupiter Room makes for a particularly close paraphrase of the Punk.

While this is hardly offensive, their reliance on Parisian filtered squelches and flabby bass lines fails to open any new musical avenues  or push any boundaries. The album could have done with a little more editing too, with two or three tracks here clearly included as filler.

Digitalism are more potent when they strap on the guitars and they nearly have the chemistry for a truly unique potion. Perhaps a little less plastic and a bit more leather might help refine the recipe next time.



Digitalism