Various Artists - Future Disco

Any genre with the prefix “nu” seems fated to be met with a backlash almost as soon as it appears on the scene (nu-metal or nu-rave, anyone?) This is perhaps why this album title avoids it, instead opting for the sleeker sounding Future Disco,/em>. Truth be told, it is actually what could be described as “new wave disco” which has been enjoying something of a moment in the sun recently. Gone are the days of flares, perms and platform shoes, only to be replaced by high-tops, block fringes and skinny jeans as bands like Low Motion Disco and Friendly Fires bring the disco sound back onto the radar for club kids everywhere. The album is full of twinkling melodies and mellow vocals. Holy Ghost’s Hold On and Tensnake’s Congolal are stand-outs, but you can’t help but feel that this lacks the energy of original disco; however, that might just be because nobody’s sure quite how to dance to it yet. Not a bad compilation, certainly, if, as one might imagine, they’ve selected the best of the genre, I’d hate to hear the worst.