Various – Kitsune Compilation 9: Petit Bateau Edition review

Artist: Various
Title: Kitsune Compilation 9: Petit Bateau Edition
Label: Kitsune
Genre: Electro House
Format: 12″, CD, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records (2xLP, CD), Juno Download

The peerless Kitsune are back with yet another superbly curated collection of songs and artists that all straddle the line between indie and dance so perfectly. One man band Washed Out gets things off to an inspired start with the hauntingly beautiful “Belong”, a truly memorable tune that has the vibe and swing of Carly Simon’s classic “Why?”, but with a deliberate lo-fi roughness (as though it was recorded on cassette) and enough echoed vocals to make Panda Bear jealous. The funk gets a little more conventional with Penguin Prison’s “Animal Animal”, which is an endearingly child-like throwback to the likes of the Tom Tom Club and even Howard Jones.

The mighty Crookers show up in cahoots with French MC Yelle on “Cooler Couleur” (from their Tons Of Friends album), while fellow Frenchman Yuksek also embellishes his latest, “Supermenz”, with some pretty hyped up vocals. Highly rated and upcoming London band Fenech-Soler don’t disappoint with new song “Stop And Stare”, which rides along a sophisticated sea of synths and crafts out a gorgeous melody on top of it all. Brazilian DJs The Twelves do a lovely job with Two Door Cinema Club’s “Something Good Can Work”, taking it down the disco and adding some crafty arpeggios in between the verses.

Brooklyn’s Holy Ghost! have been keeping fans on tenterhooks ever since their first DFA single “Hold On” dropped. With an album finally nearing completion, they drop “Say My Name” here on Kitsune 9 and it looks like it should be something pretty special indeed. With exclusives such as an Arthur Baker mix of Manchester duo Hurts, as well as other essential new tunes from Monarchy, Logo and Feldberg, Kitsune prove their cool yet again with this compilation.

Review: Oliver Keens