The joy of a post-club electronic mix album is found in slapping it on, kicking back, and letting the music surprise and delight at every twist and turn of the selection.
!K7's DJ Kicks discs have been the finest series of such mixes for over ten years, but in rounding up exclusives from previous releases this CD stalls.
Contributions come from electronic luminaries such as Kruder & Dorfmeister, Carl Craig and Tiga, and some are very satisfying.
Thievery Corporation's warm, downtempo track is sublime and Kid Loco's Flyin' on 747 is pleasingly fuzzy.
Later on Erlend Oye, of Kings of Convenience fame, stands out from the messy cuts that fill the album's midsection with a composition featuring piano and exceptionally cute vocals, and The Glimmers track that follows is electro-rock squelching at its best.
Several exclusives from other artists may have you reaching for the skip button: the Playgroup entry is dull electro and the Terranova track just stereotypical breaks.
The biggest problem is the lack of a vision to hold proceedings together. The DJ Kicks series has strode on, head held high above the mix-CD also-rans, by getting some of the most interesting DJ's, bands and remixers around to craft unique mixes.
The Exclusives feels more like a straightforward compilation.
Released February 27, 2006.
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