The Toxic Avenger – “Romance and Cigarettes” (album stream) (Premiere)

Following the anticipation-building bass notes of “In the Beginning”, French electronic maestro Simon Delacroix, known as the Toxic Avenger, takes the listener on a whirlwind, hour-long journey through a whole gamut of electronic music with his new album, Romance & Cigarettes. The ’70’s-indebted title cut, which Delacroix intended “to do something that reminded [him] of the golden age of Italo-disco,” is a funky, catchy jam. “Chase I” is reminiscent of fellow French electronic (and as of late rock) outfit Justice, though Delacroix’s vision of the song is much simpler: “Back to the basics—A beat and a bass!” Featuring multiple collaborations and spanning multiple subgenres within electronic music, Romance & Cigarettes is a feast of danceable tunes; one would be hard-pressed to not find something to get down to.

Romance & Cigarettes is out on June 10th in the US on Ultra Records.