The Presets – Beams (Modular)

On planet electro 2006, there are admitedly the fun-but-shallow likes of White Rose Movement and The Modern to contend with. But then Australian duo The Presets come along, and the competition crumbles. Beams is simply the finest electronic album since Depeche Mode's Violator, bringing together Moroder, acid house, Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, The Human League, Orbital and, yes, even tarnished tarts Fischerspooner into one glorious whole. Aimed predominantly at the dancefloor, it also plunges expertly into the sexual aggression ('I Go Hard, I Go Home'), cocky pop suss ('Are You The One') and soul-mining depths of melancholy ('Girl And The Sea') of which the very best electro is capable. An unexpected blast of menthol in a world of cabbage soup.

Charlie Ivens