Having rocketed to iconic status within dance music circles with their first two full-length releases, it is interesting to note the eclectic approach adopted by French duo Cassius for 15 Again, their third studio album to date. This is not to say that their previous offerings have been repetitive – not at all! However, there had always been a strain of familiarity lingering throughout the duration of each album. Not here however – 15 Again finds Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass in a playful mood, drawing on anything and everything for inspiration and manipulation, as long as it results in a rhythmic groove that they then slap on some vocals over. The exercise doesn’t always work, especially given that Cassius are usually at their best when producing largely instrumental dancefloor anthems!

On a clearly separate parallel from their familiar French House timbre, this album steps into (and across) several genres, picking up bits and pieces along the way and blending them into a curious but interesting set of tunes that flirt with anything from rock to jazz and pop to reggae in the journey that starts with the bouncy Toop Toop dancefloor gem and ends with the tropically-flavoured cut-n-paste excursion that is Cria Cuervos. Around the halfway mark, the title track serves up a retro-electro vocal cut that marks another of the album’s peaks but overall, 15 Again remains a somewhat disjointed record that falls short of the finesse exhibited on previous releases!

Rating: 3

CD COURTESY OF EXOTIQUE