Astrix Eye To Eye Hom-Mega / BNE (Israel)

I must confess, I’ve probably listened to this album more than any other this year. Astrix’s sort of postmodern full-on style is addictive, and the way that melodic runs shine out of tight rhythmic backbones is delicious. Sounding accomplished as an artist album, it’s straight in for business with Life System, a delicious and uplifting opener with bags of spirit. Crystal Sequence is reminiscent of Jaia’s stuff, and Massive Activity sounds like an ever-expanding, dancefloor-melting smiley face with a good balance of all the right ingredients. The title track’s a little sub-par, with what sounds like a swarm of Yahel gremlins edamifying Astrix’s computers, and the mix here of Scientific Reality lacks the punch of the Rough Mix that’s appeared on various compilations this year, but you have to clutch at straws to unearth these negative points. Cheesy in places perhaps, and the heard-it-all-before dub by numbers of Freestyle Cafe is definitely missing, but an energetic and enjoyable album from start to finish.