MISS KITTIN & THE HACKER TWO ALBUM NOBODY'S BIZZNESS RELEASE: MARCH 27, 2009 (EUROPE), MAY 19, 2009 (US) REVIEW: MAY 27, 2009

When electroclash hit the scene it took a while before I really started to enjoy it, but a live show with Miss Kittin & the Hacker at the Arvika Festival convinced me of its qualities. I bought their debut, “First Album”, and it’s a record that I still return to. With their cool attitude, laid-back while danceable beats, I was stuck and have eagerly been waiting for new music from the duo ever since.

And suddenly, eight years later, we get a new album. A lot of the solo stuff they have released through the years has been really promising so I am hopeful when I first pop “Two” into my stereo. However, I'm quickly disappointed. Everything that I used to love: the ultra chic vocals, the minimalistic beats, the oozing of cool; it’s all gone. Or perhaps not gone, but grown up, grown out of style or something like that, because this just doesn’t work as it used to. Mostly I feel that it’s a real loss that the vocals aren’t allowed to take more room in the mix. A lot of the strength of the old Miss Kittin & the Hacker lied in the tounge-in-cheek lyrics and the way they where performed; talked and explained more than sung.

You can sense the quality and possibilities throughout the album; which just makes it even more frustrating. It’s not badly done, and there are highlights like the single “Party in My Head” and the EBM-beat of “Indulgence”, but overall I miss that extra spark that shone so bright before.

Please try again; I know that you can do better.

TOBIAS ELIASSON