Haven’t focused on synthetic dance beats in awhile so here’s to emptying the reserve of hedonistic expression.

Honey Dipped Tennis Player

Simian Mobile Disco – While there’s nothing here as clever as “Hustler” from their prior effort, it’s still enjoyable. That enjoyment factor is largely based on who they’ve selected as the vocalist for a particular track (in this case Chris Keating from Yeasayer) or who they namedrop (in this case Mama Cass and Peter Tosh). Still, providing Jamie Lidell another avenue for his artistic output does hint at a lack of judgment.

Dyko – If mid-period Sisters of Mercy were sung in German. Or perhaps Lords of the New Church. Anyone remotely familiar with that brand of late 80’s goth (the clothes and attitude and basslines) will find this slightly nostalgic, as they don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Unless you’re on Metropolis.

Prodigy – A little late on this one, sorry chaps. So speaking of digging for gold, The Prodigy wander back to Out Of Space style manic cod reggae, which I thought was a Faint cover based on the title. Perhaps it’s just a tip o’ the hat, or slight misdirection. Either way, for those with a fondness for manic sped-up repetitive Jamaican samples it’s like mac and cheese.

Felix Da Housecat – So, to go for overt Prince namedrop or harmless S&M reference? They’re both contained within the new Felix album, which seems to base each track on some concept Felix finds humorous then drives it to dust by exploring little beyond the obvious.

Amanda Blank – Finally, a track that might hold up to multiple spins! Ok, I haven’t exactly raised expectations here and certainly Amanda Blank is anything but life changing, but slather on that Dr. Pepper lip gloss and pucker up for a candy kiss.

Streetlab – Every week we get at least one release like this: 1) Blank Slimline Case (problem: can’t read the spine), 2) Song titles only written on disc (problem: tough to figure out what song you’re playing w/o ejecting the disc) 3) White sticker label on name-brand CD-R (problem: trayless professional CD players won’t accept, or even worse won’t reject it). Despite those 3 strikes I still listened (and enjoyed).

Black Mold - One wouldn’t associate Chad VanGaalen with a funk/electronic influenced instrumental side project, but here it is.

Sweet Trip – We’ll leave the kids hanging out in the corner watching all the action unfold for the all-important final selection, a smooth pop track that recalls Swedish dance pop more than any of the electro predecessors available on this mix. Not much of a hurdle mind you …