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There is a press shot accompanying the release of French techno boffin Shonky's new LP, Time Zero, that says it all: he's is bounding towards the camera, wrenching open his button-down shirt to reveal the familiar "S" Superman logo blazoned beneath it. With his rippling, superhero jaw thrust determinedly forward only the glint in his eye betrays the layered, quasi-seriousness of the shot.

Sure, it's a joke. The "S" for Shonky, for Superman, a bit of tongue-in-cheek alliterative referencing. But it also suggests, sincerely, that Shonky is swooping in to "rescue" dance music with his daring new album. In which case we have to ask, first, does dance music need a new superhero? And if so, does Time Zero prove Shonky is up to the job?

On the first count, the answer is both yes and no. Reinvigorated by booster shots of deep house, acid and a renewed attention to the needs of dancers (rather than ket-heads) techno is in rude health. However, the only guarantee of its continued success is regular injections of new tunes and new ideas, so on that basis we always "need" new superheroes.

So, does Shonky fit the bill? Arguably, he's already made his case for inclusion in the contemporary pantheon with massive cuts like Olympia and his remix of Danton Eeprom's All I Can Say. The only thing he needs to prove on Time Zero is that his ideas stretch beyond the taut confines of his trademark "submarine" sound (clicks, clops and basslines that seem to snake up from the bottom of the sea). Which he does, and stylishly.

Kicking off the with psychedelic-tinged title track (a nod to friend, mentor and label boss Dan Ghenacia's influential love of West Coast hippie vibes) the album meanders purposefully through a pretty selection of electronic music that manages to pick up and play with trends without being driven by them. Among the highlights is Odyssey, an instantly inviting Detroit-style minimal track reverberating with eerie space noises. Galactica keeps on the outer space theme as well, with chopped vocal snippets accenting its dark atmosphere.

It's not all old-school 313 references, though. Acid and even disco get a peek in with tracks like the glossy Ondulation (another favourite) and the twisted, glitter-ball sashay of Ringside With Dione. Shonky even finds space to pay tribute to the godfathers of house music with Cosmic Ray, a playful homage to Voodoo Ray that offers a slick, techno update of the original's warm tribal feel. The best of the lot, though, is Minor Planets which is futuristic techno funk at its finest. Shonky understands very clearly what makes 21^st century dancefloors tick and with Time Zero he's earned his cheeky "Superman" pose.