When exactly did Kitsuné morph from the prophetic tastemaking label to the "get on here to make it big real quick" label? I'm not really sure (maybe around compilation 4?), but one can't help but feel a bit guarded every time the Parisian boutique label decides to fart another one of these out in an attempt to usher in a new century (in blog years). Although it would be of my normal predisposition to roll my eyes and start checking DFA's upcoming release schedule (check out their Supersoul compilation, by the way. It pwns you), I kinda had to second guess that about halfway through listening to this one.

And so it seems, Kitsuné Maison Vol. 6, so dubbed The Melodic One, isn't really that bad. However, it ain't really that good either. And what can really be more offensive than being tepidly mediocre? But come to think of it, hasn't every Kitsuné compilation pretty much been exactly the same? A few heaters, but mostly stinkers? I mean I'm not even really sure where Kitsuné's reputation as hot shit even came from. Methinks it has more to do with their explosive arrival on the scene arm-in-arm with Parisian sister label, Ed Banger than it does the actual output of their label. I mean yeah, they gave us Digitalism and Boys Noize and stuff-- but they also gave us turds like Guns N' Bombs & Riot In Belgium, which in a few short blog years have proven to be nothing but disposable headache electro (woah, did I just coin a new genre?). This time around, they've also done well to steer clear of falling back on the old reliables, like the aformentioned Digitalism (how many space voyage remixes of "Zdarlight" did we really need?) and Mr. Noize, and have opted to gamble on a few upstarts and unknowns. Ok, so there is a Digitalism track, but it's a 3 minute instrumental, and it blends into the background so seamlessly that you barely realize it's even there.

As for the good stuff, Aussie darlings PNAU come quick and strong with "With You Forever", a catchy track with an ethereal quality and frantic pace that's amongst the more quality pop tunes on the compilation. Likewise, Grovesnor's "Drive Your Car" is a pleasant cruiser of a tune, with a dash of Lionel Richie and a spit shine from Hot Chip who pull remix duty on the track. Other highlights (and surefire dance floor ammo) come in the form of relative unknown Beni's disco flavored cut "My Love Sees You", which kinda makes you wonder why the Kitsuné camp isn't steering things in this direction (with other nu-disco wunderkind, In Flagranti, in tow). But I guess if that'd happened, I'd be complaining about how they sound too much like DFA.

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