Total Ed Banger **

The problem with Sebastian Akchoté's debut album is that it's simply taken too long to get here. If Totalhad come along when Akchoté's label mates Justice had been thrilling the planet with sleazy electrofunk, his name would also be up in lights alongside that giant cross. But time moves on, and that Ed Banger sound doesn't have quite the same je ne sais quoi now as then. Certainly, there's no denying the superb fizzy energy with which the Boulogne-born producer approaches his synth-raves. Love in Motion(with doo-wop throwback Mayer Hawthorne on vocals), Friedand Motorprovide fine clatters of sound, and there's even an engaging appearance from M.I.A. on C.T.F.O.. The problem is that the chopped-up sounds and sterile funk soon begin to drag, and Akchoté seems incapable of mustering up anything new. A pity for him that there's no 2007 revival on the cards. See myspace.com/0sebastian0

Download tracks: Love in Motion, Fried