Electronic music has suffered its lows (see chart-pap such as the omnipresent David Guetta) and ridden the highs (the phenomenal live barrages of groups like Justice, Underworld and Daft Punk) over the years, but here’s a group that doesn’t fit either the wider clubbing scene or the French funky house mould. Rendezvous are from Israel, and this debut album features the fruits of recording sessions made during attacks on neighbouring cities and towns from Hezbollah missiles.

Citing Kraftwerk, Air and Pink Floyd as influences, you’d be expecting a laid-back, chill-out vibe, and this is layered on from the mysterious ambience of opening track ‘C Sharp’ which gains momentum with it’s almost sci-fi synths and funky bass-line which positively cries out for a crowd to clap along with. ‘Egypt’ evokes the style of Jean-Michel Jarre and Cerrone, and club chart hit ‘The Murf’ expands on this, creating a danceable sound that is not too harsh to prevent mainstream chart success.

‘Adagio for Tiesto’ does, as you might expect from the title, have a more trance-oriented feel but achieved through a futuristic synth line, orchestration and natural sounding drums, rather than the processed machine driven rhythms we’re so used to in ‘dance’ music. There’s a definite cinematic polish given to the majority of the eight tracks on offer here, and I couldn’t help but think of movies such as ‘Bladerunner’ and the recent ‘Tron’ reboot upon hearing them.

‘End of the World’ closes the album in style, with stuttering keys and an urgent beat which doesn’t overwhelm the track, building to a piano led crescendo that ends proceedings nicely. While it doesn’t vary too much across the running time, this is definitely an album to check out if you’re a fan of electronic music. What the album does offer is done very well, and goes to show there’s a lot more emotion to be gleaned from the genre than the ever-present techno and house templates.