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 ONE LOVE – Neon Nights
(Sony BMG)
The brand that’s become the reason you don’t set foot in Monastery on a Saturday night has a new three-disc comp, featuring Thomas Gold, TV Rock and One Love resident Nick Foley. Gold’s ‘Midnight’ mix is peppered with his own productions, but one of those happens to be the thousandth remix of Delerium’s Silence. Christ, may as well drop Born Slippy in there - why do cheap crowd reactions in halves? The rest sounds like 80 minutes of Overdrive recorded straight off Nova. TV Rock’s ‘3AM’ mix is the winner; he keeps the clubby vibe without selling his body to the listener like everyone else seems to do. Foley’s ‘Backroom’ mix contains lots of retro indie-styled disco, à la Sinden – and it’s done originally enough to be passable. By the way, I loved the road-map packaging that I had to fold out for an hour. No, really.
***
 GUY J – Esperanza
(Bedrock/IMD)
This promo sheet attached to the disc compared this Israeli’s new artist album to Nathan Fake’s Drowning In A Sea Of Love. Guy J’s track I See You Next Time is probably why Nathan Fake got a mention on the promo - it instantly reminded me of his teary arrangement of Fell. But while parts of Esperanze smack of Border Community influence, a lot of it does make its own mark, swinging slowly along the low-ground of stripped prog and swampy electronica. Save Me is a huge highlight; like an eerie recreation of dodgy Fairlight CMI-soundtracked video from the 1980s, it’s superb bit of production. Unfortunately, the album doesn’t always get out into this kind of space, and when it does, you’ve probably heard it done similar, or better. Still, there’s real quality here, and with further development, Guy J could truly join the esteemed company of Fake and co.
***½
MINISTRY OF SOUND – Progression
(Ministry Of Sound/Universal)
I need a drink. Ministry Of Sound are going to have a crack at a prog comp. Though it wasn’t mixed by Deadmau5, six tracks on the first disc are his; trust MOS to go with progressive’s flavour of the month to ensure Progression is a success in the stores. Outside of this, the term ‘progressive’ is very thinly (read: not) applied; vocals dominate the order, from Thomas Gold’s remix of Silence to Inpetto’s remix of Toca Me. I don’t even know where to begin with the second disc; it’s nowhere near progressive. Half of it is fucking electro and the rest of it sounds like the quirky commercial house; in short, little separates it from any recent Clubber’s Guide. Ministry Of Sound would have something if they didn’t bastardise every decent idea using the cheap fuck of commercialism. You can’t kill integrity. Paradoxically, you can’t kill Ministry Of Sound, either.
**
 SLAM – Sci-Fi Hi-Fi 5
(Soma Recordings)
The founders of Glasgow-based label Soma have attached their new compilation with undoubtedly one of the coolest titles ever. Having their label’s entire catalogue at their disposal was never going to hurt the pair in making a fresh single-disc mix; neither does eating, breathing and shitting various forms of techno all day. The minimal that kicks off proceedings passes the baton to some solid tech house; the disc’s thin percussive edge keeps the focus for the floor while making sure it doesn’t sound completely safe to the listener. The more noticeable synth work starts creeping into the mix from its midpoint. Now if that sounds like what you want, then you’ve found your match; otherwise, Slam didn’t stick any firecrackers under my chair. It’s very possible to be innovative with tech, but it usually sacrifices its danceable nature; something I don’t think the boys were quite prepared to do on this one.
***
SCOTT HARMS
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