Vitalic:Rave age

French dance producer Pascal Arbez, aka Vitalic, specialises in a brand of dark electro, which he first introduced to the world on his excellent 2005 debut OK Cowboy. His latest offering, the aptly titled Rave Age, finds him pushing everything to extremes – the rhythms are even tighter and more claustrophobic and the electro noise more intense. Highlights are plentiful, with the electro-noise blizzard ‘Stamina’ and the twisting, synth-driven assault of ‘Vigipirate’ among the stand-outs. Perhaps best of all is the Werner Herzog-referencing ‘The Legend Of Kaspar Hauser’, the menacing industrial atmosphere of which wouldn’t be out of place on a Nine Inch Nails album.