simianmobiledisco-attackdecaysustainrelease music reviews Virgin Media
Dance music is reborn thanks to a pair of former indie-popsters and a bunch of knackered old analogue synths
Although James Ford has produced recent albums for indie-rockers Mystery Jets and Arctic Monkeys and was, alongside SMD cohort Jas Shaw, in psych-folk outfit Simian, this project is aimed squarely at a thumping, sweaty dancefloor. Forget indie-dance or nu-rave: this pair have been DJing electro and techno for years. Indeed, the name originates from playing out in clubs after Simian shows.
Thus, Attack... pays homage to dance music's heritage (techno, electro-pop and house form the foundations) and will please the 30-something former ravers, while being poppy and futuristic enough to ensnare the young 'uns discovering a world beyond guitars. Pounding, trancey opener Sleep Deprivation, with that irresistible melancholic edge to its euphoric synth sweep, is breathtaking. Elsewhere, Wooden nods towards Orbital's laser-guided atmospherics while recent anthemic single It's The Beat is like a hip-house Technotronic re-working Pump Up The Jam.
Attack... does tire towards the end, but at a taut 37 minutes, this is no cobbled together 12 inch collection. This is in fact a bonafide signal of dance music's long-awaited revival – and should be the soundtrack to your summer.
More to try:
Daft Punk: Homework
Orbital: Orbital II
Vitalic: Ok Cowboy
Justice: †
