Kavinsky - Outrun (Vinyl LP, Vinyl LP)

French synth-house wizard Kavinsky has been circling the block in his Ferrari Testarossa for several years now, sizing up the scene and honing his super-slick chops to perfection until now, finally, seven years after his debut EP, his debut full-length is finally here in the office for us to whack our ears around (although we’re still waiting on the fancy deluxe version at the time of writing).

As you would expect from one of the men behind the universally acclaimed ‘Drive’ soundtrack, this is a record full of crisp synthpop with fat beats and bright, soaring tones, arranged with an epic attention to detail which makes for the kind of record that makes you feel like a king wandering around with it on your headphones or even better blasting it from your car. Kavinsky takes the neon future-electro kick of Daft Punk or Justice and mixes in the phat sleaziness of hip-hop (particularly when he incorporates rappers like in ‘Suburbia’) and some Vangelis/Jean-Michel Jarre-esque pure synth worship.

If I have a complaint it’s that by the end perhaps the extreme polish can make it seem a bit plasticky and homogenous in places, but this guy has a clearly defined style of his own and he pulls it off with no small amount of cool. You’ll probably be able to impress girls with it.