A new album from Kraftwerk after 17 years of virtual silence? For fans of electronic music, it's hardly any less exciting than the return of the Beatles. Few albums could live up to that level of expectation, however, and the sad reality is that Tour de France Soundtracks is a bit of a letdown. Loosely conceived as a homage to cycling, the band's favourite sport, it's a peculiarly charmless mish-mash of whirring chains, heavy panting and static rhythm tracks, with few interesting ideas and even fewer decent tunes. The problem is, while the German studio boffins sounded genuinely revolutionary back in the 70s, today they sound just like any other techno band. Time to hand on the yellow jersey, then - because this disappointingly lacklustre effort is strictly for completists only.
