Maintaining his legacy as an integral figure of the French Touch movement — known for reimagining American house and funk through sampling, filtering and looping — Sébastien Tellier gets groovy and fresh in his upcoming album, “Kiss The Beast.” Still, only a handful of songs have enough energy and spunk to make them playlist-worthy.

The former Eurovision participant’s signature synth-heavy sound and intricate arrangements are sure to please his longtime fans as the multi-instrumentalist crafts an ethereal atmosphere throughout the album. However, the biggest mood killer is Tellier’s whisper-croon style of singing that pops up in several songs and drains the joy from the tracks.

The album opens with its title track, “Kiss the Beast,” and it has a pleasant electronic, disco vibe with heavily autotuned vocals from Tellier, who repeats “Kiss the beast” and “Sometimes I kiss your lips / Sometimes I kiss the beast” more times than anyone wants to count. The awkward lyrics almost ruin the dreamy, satisfying synths and make the song feel a lot longer than its three-and-a-half-minute runtime.

Following the underwhelming opener, “Naïf de Coeur” still features Tellier’s breathless and soulless whisper-singing and sounds uninspired. The nearly five-minute-long track is painfully drawn out, so even the beautiful blending of synths and effects can’t save it.

“Refresh” features an addictive ’80s-type beat, quickly making it one of the standout tracks on the album. The vocoder Tellier uses is reminiscent of Daft Punk’s, and the violin accompaniment solidifies Tellier’s artistry. It sounds fitting for a video game soundtrack, not just because of the intense auto-tune, but also because the lyrics urge listeners to “Replay, restart, refresh the game.”

It’s unfortunately jarring to go from an enjoyable song like “Refresh” to the uncomfortable “Mouton.” Dramatic piano melodies are maintained throughout, but they don’t evoke any real emotion. Instead, the track feels incoherent, even featuring a sheep baa-ing.

“Thrill of the Night” is a completely different concept from the previous track and is easily the best song on the album. Featuring songwriter and rapper Slayyyter and guitarist Nile Rodgers, it has a catchy beat with hints of ’80s techno while still feeling fresh and danceable. Slayyyter provides chromatic rising-falling melodies in the chorus as she sings, “Excitation tickle my imagination / At night, nothing’s unthinkable.”

The album takes another dip as “Romantic” serves as a tolerable interlude with more pleasing violins, but it feels lackluster after “Thrill of the Night.”
The seventh track on the album, “Parfum Diamant,” is very minimalist and artsy. It teeters on the edge of being divine, but still not worth coming back to, especially with its colorless lyrics and lack of energy or spark compared to other songs off the album.

“Copycat” is the only track where Tellier’s whispery vocals are done well, as they are introduced at the right times and layered with synths, delectable violins and carefully tuned background vocals. The violins are exciting throughout the song and make it sound vibrant and full of life. Unfortunately, that isn’t seen as much in the rest of the album.

Sounding more appropriate for a movie soundtrack, “Animale” is dramatic and dynamic with a simple chord progression played on piano and backed by horns and woodwinds, but it isn’t the best fit for “Kiss The Beast,” which is characterized by prominent synths and heavily autotuned vocals.

Nearing the end of the album, “Amnesia” features an engaging and refreshing verse from Kid Cudi, who also provides background vocals for the choruses, but the track as a whole isn’t anything to write home about. There is an interesting echo effect where “Amnesia” is repeated over and over, but it gets old quickly.

The eleventh track, “Loup,” is again brought down by his vocals, even though the track is accented by awesome flamenco-esque guitar. There is a breakdown at the end that feels out of place at first until it finds its groove, creating a sublime, cinematic ending with fanfare and background vocals reminiscent of those on Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.”

The last track, “Un Dimanche en Famille,” is a calming and easy way to end the album, leaving listeners feeling reflective and reinforcing the energy of the other songs. It fails to stand out amongst a crowd of mediocre and skippable tracks, but it serves as a nice send-off to listeners from Tellier.

“Kiss The Beast” is far from a masterpiece and is missing a consistent spark that can be found in tracks “Thrill of the Night” and “Refresh,” but it still showcases flashes of Tellier’s artistry and prowess as a composer. While uninspired lyricism and vocals often sap the life out of otherwise promising arrangements, the album is better suited to be appreciated by its pieces, not as a whole.

“Kiss The Beast” releases on Jan. 30.