Aussie electro types on Modular, whose ‘Shadows’ was a minor fave of mine last year, return with a slightly more muscular sound that doesn’t quite match previous heights. Works better without the blah-blah vocals, stripped of which it sounds like an extract from a recent Ladytron album.

Can’t really go anywhere with this one beyond repeating everything I said when discussing Remedy. After a false start with the uncharacteristic single and video for ‘New In Town’, Miss Boots is very much back in the game, playing to type with this synths-in-space video and another single that, well, sounds like Little Boots. All in all a very decent reminder of why we liked her in the first place, a cracking chorus and that’s really all you need to know. Some good remixes doing the rounds too. A few can be found here from Treasure Fingers and (even better) Yes Giantess. Video below the click.

Pascal Arbez, AKA Vitalic, creator of the decade-defining La Rock 01 and the equally ace debut album OK Cowboy in 2005, has been pretty quiet for the past few years. Back this year, finally, with a follow-up album called Flashmob, Poison Lips is pretty typical of the sound. Atmospheric, brooding, almost creepy electro that, while not moving tectonic plates to the extent that OK Cowboy often seemed to, hits the spot and sounds a class above anyone else still ploughing this particular furrow. The video complements the noises perfectly and is, as ever, below the click.

While the Raveonettes may have just about got over their thing for concept albums themed around a chord sequence, there’s no doubting they’re still in thrall to Spector girl group harmonies as filtered through the Jesus and Mary Chain fuzzbox handbook. The tunes just keep getting prettier though, and this track, out as a double-A with the even more delectable “Bang!”, is a good taste of their excellent new album In and Out of Control. Matthew Lessner’s blue-screen and wooden bird filled video is an additional treat.

Dutch trance dude Tiesto is generally better known for filling enormodomes (and Olympic opening ceremonies) as a DJ than for his own releases. New album Kaleidoscope should change that, packed as it is with chart-friendly tunes featuring big name guests like Nelly Furtado and Kele from Bloc Party, as well as a few more interesting choices from further leftfield. This first single is a decent slab of dancefloor friendly pop, but it’s especially worth looking out for the tracks featuring Emily Haines of Metric and Tegan & Sara.

I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to take an interest in Wild Beasts. I’m a big fan of evident kindred spirits British Sea Power, and appreciate Hayden Thorpe’s impressive Billy Mackenzie-esque falsetto. Something’s not quite clicked for me thus far though – I think it could well be that they sound like they’re trying a bit too hard. Anyway, this dreamy mid-paced number has me pretty much converted. All spooky chants, layered guitars and lists of random English towns. Works for me.

OK, I’m almost six months late with this one, but I only stumbled on it via a Chew Lips remix and had to work back to the original. Released in May, this is an infectious few minutes of French Rock’n'Roll from an all-girl four-piece. It’s driven by chunky Jack White-alike guitars, but the melody is pure pop. On this initial evidence, they come across as sounding like the missing link between the Runaways and the Go-Gos, which as all-girl reference points go, ain’t a bad start.

I’ve kind of lost track of what Felix has been up to in the last few years. To my mind, he produced two pretty near perfect albums early in the decade with Kittenz and Thee Glitz in 2001 and 2004’s Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever, but then seemed to go off the boil somewhat. Happily, all seems to be back up to standard in Felix-world, with this nicely understated bit of melodic electro-pop. The video’s a joy too, with our hero prancing around in his finest Prince regalia and some cheeky “celebrity” cameos.

Pleased to see this track’s getting a UK single release, having been with us for the best part of a year. Following on from the slick, radio-friendly smoochery of Heartbreaker, this one is back on more familiar territory – dirty electro, here accompanied by some fittingly filthy vocalising from an assortment of guests, led by NORE. Another version out there adds a bit of Pitbull to the mix. In any case, it’s all excellent dancefloor-enticing stuff. Ha. Ha. Ha. Haaa.

I briefly mentioned Kyla earlier in the year, for the excellent Do You Mind, which almost scraped the charts back in February. This belated follow up is perhaps not as officially ‘Funky’ (that’s its genre, so I’m told) as its predecessor, but is kind of pretty. I seem to be developing a growing tolerance for smooth, polished vocal styles, and this certainly nails that. The video’s one of those cheesy, yet endearing affairs you used to get in the late 90s. It involves bubbles, dancing and sunsets.