Giorgio Moroder, Déjà Vu - album review: strained and dulled by over-familiarity

Coaxed back to work by Daft Punk’s love and, perhaps, a slew of EDM (electronic dance music) types working in his (mirror)ball-park, Giorgio Moroder’s comeback album seems bent on proving he can cut it with his protégés but, sadly, just sounds strained and dulled by over-familiarity.

The theory is fine: the king returns to reclaim his crown with an army of followers – including guest voices Sia, Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX. But the practice is formulaic right off the bat, the opening songs observing with chilly efficiency a blueprint of breathless beats followed by a drop-down pause before the hands-in-the-air chorus where, presumably, we all imagine that we’re Jennifer Beals in legwarmers.

Giorgio Moroder, Déjà Vu It’s froideur on the dancefloor, and the lack of warmth so deadens the vocal contributions that Minogue actually sounds bored of disco froth (no, really) on “Right Here, Right Now” and Kelis’s throaty voice is blunted by the bluster of “Back and Forth”.

Foxes and Matthew Koma make light work of “Wildstar” and “Tempted” respectively, but repeat vocoder abuse diminishes any sense of character further. The Britney Spears-led cover of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” is a personality vacuum and the highlight, “74 is the New 24”, merely circles around in the slipstream of Moroder’s 1978 classic “Chase”.

A fond indulgence, perhaps, but there’s nothing on Déjà Vu that will take your breath away like “I Feel Love”.

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