Miss Kittin And The Hacker* – Two

Miss Kittin and the Hacker return for the aptly titled TWO, starting with the enveloping sounds of "The Womb," before the phased drums kick in and Miss Kittin's vocals pierce the haze. "1000 Dreams" has a warmer sound, steeped as it is in the 80s, while "Pppo" sounds like a radar test in the funkiest submarine around. "Party in My Head" actually brings the party onto the floor, and "Indulgence" pushes it forward like a shark attack. Their cover of the Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" is a shiny pop concoction, while the French language "Inutile Etérnité" dips a toe into electronic mysticism. Let's hope it's not too long until album #3 emerges.

2009 saw the release of The Hacker & Miss Kittin's long awaited second album, snappily entitled "Two".

We begin with The Womb, which instantly reminds us of what makes the combination of The Hacker and Miss Kittin so cool. The Hacker's icy cold space-age techno slides effortlessly under Miss Kittin's spoken word / whispered singing style.

1000 Dreams is a much more melodic affair, and perhaps rightly so the logical single release. A strong Italo Disco style bassline / melody rides over catchy vocals and we are reminded of that classic "First Album" from 2001's sound.

PPPO dives deeper, however. A minimal techno approach is favoured, with bleepy techno undertones (including a very heavy sub-bass). Excellent all-round, this track also saw a fantastic remix by Function who really brought the track down into serious business.

Party In My Head again hints back at that "First Album" from 2001, very much in the Electro-Clash vibe of throbbing bass and ethereal synths. On this track the sound of Bobby O is evoked, with a very 80'S New York ethos.

Indulgence is a faster tempo track that would not sound out of place on a release by VNV Nation. Very much EBM in style and vocal delivery, it drives along fast and uncompromising. It's pretty apparent the influence that bands like Front 242 had upon The Hacker and Miss Kittin in this track. And rightly so!

Emotional Interlude is a breakbeat electro track to break up the album somewhat, and it's a nice inclusion. It lowers the excitement without compromising emotion, and it really hits home hard.

Suspicious Minds is, yes, a cover version of the Elvis Presley track. Unlike the Pet Shop Boys (who made a stellar cover version of their own), The Hacker & Miss Kittin make this cover uniquely their own by totally toning down the bombast. The Hacker keeps his techno low and acidic, as he is a master at. Miss Kittin delivers cooly and at a distance. What did you expect? My mum hates this version. Usually I trust her taste in music, but in this case I think she may be biased...

Electronic City really shows the divide that is obvious in a large, metropolitan city. It starts off indistinct, Miss Kittin speaking over metallic minimal techno until DROP...

A lush synth / bassline hits in and Miss Kittin starts singing, a hymn to the Electronic City!

Then we are brought back to street level again, gritty reality. One of the album highlights.

Inutile Éternité, as you can probably tell by the title, features Miss Kittin speaking in her mother tongue. A strong bassline throbs over spooky electronics to make for a classic Miss Kittin & The Hacker sound. I really should ask my wife what the lyrics mean (as she is a Francophone) but regardless of whether you speak French or not you will enjoy this dark track.

Ray Ban hints at Shari Vari (by A Number Of Names, who The Hacker remixed along with Vitalic back in 2002). It's not obvious, but you get the feeling throughout the track. Menacing, and Miss Kittin's vocals really cement the deal.

1000 Dreams (Reprise) is an ambient reprisal of the earlier track, and it is a pleasant (instrumental) end to a very satisfying album.

A fantastic album of electro / techno like only The Hacker & Miss Kittin can achieve.