Timo Maas has made a name for himself as one of Europe's top DJs, but also has a rather nice sideline in 'proper' albums with Pictures being his second such release and it's thankfully even better than debut Loud...

Instead of the big beats and dancefloor anthems of his day-job, Maas prefers things a bit darker and a bit less straightforward, and you can guarantee that anything sung by Placebo's Brian Molko is never likely to be straightforward.

After a slightly insubstantial intro Slip In Electro Kid, Molko does a pretty nifty Lou Reed impersonation on the title track, with is a flirty little devil of a tune that he fills up with vaguely indecent imagery. Single First Day is much more lively, with the little Anglo-American nympho on vocals again, and it's no surprise that it's been a hit on the dancefloors.

Neneh Cherry takes the mic (not the mick)in High Drama, which is a little bit of a comedown after the previous two, and is one of a few too many songs on here that don't really achieve much, while being nice enough in themselves. Apparently it was originally written to go on a P Diddy album of all things...

Much better is 4 UR Ears, sung by Maas' long-time collaborator, the ever-funky Kelis, while Molko is back doing his down 'n' dirty thing on Like Siamese, which could almost be a Placebo song with dance beats, which is less surprising when you note that he co-wrote it.

While Pictures probably won't make him as rich and famous as his DJing and remixing, it's certainly another album that Timo Maas can rightfully look back on with pride and is well worth listening to when you're not quite in the mood for that dancefloor, prefering to stay in the seductive shadows...