From A-Trak to Zongamin, France’s Kitsune has collected some fine contemporary club music in recent years. Ever bang on trend, as only a label with an associated fashion brand could be, it uses its style-conscious Maison compilations to highlight that taste-making prowess. And it’s through these releases that far-flung territories can be alerted to the sounds of La Roux, Digitalism, Klaxons, M.I.A., Shinichi Osawa, Simian Mobile Disco, Rex The Dog and… well, we could go on and on and on and on. But let’s move on to what should be this season’s must-haves instead.

This eighth collection starts off promising enough with French Horn Rebellion’s “Up All Night” emerging as a catchy little lyric underpinned by some cheeky electro throbbing. However “Let’s Go Surfing” by The Drums follows. Which is a bad thing. Unless, of course, you happen to be a fan of supposedly quirky three minute power-pop cuts complete with bratty vocals and nagging guitar lines.

Then there are some genuine beauties on this album. Siriusmo, for example, adds a majestic Motor City sweep to proceedings. Meanwhile Midnight Juggernauts fuse psychedelics and a northern soul stomp, Memory Tapes contribute the glorious “Bicycle” and Manchester’s Delphic come close to reconfiguring New Order via Underworld’s mixing desk. The rest of the material might follow a fairly similar design (one where illegitimate Moroder offspring are twinned with largely inconsequential semi-songs) yet Kitsune Maison 8 is still a cut above.

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