#25. Alphabeat – The Beat Is…

Snap! “Rhythm Is A Dancer” feat. Thea Austin

Technotronic “Pump Up The Jams”

Black Box “Strike It Up”

Ace of Base “All That She Wants”

C+C Music Factory “Gonna Make You Sweat”

Soul II Soul “Back To Life” feat. Caron Wheeler

D. Mob & Cathy Dennis “C’Mon & Get My Love”

Crystal Waters “100% Pure Love”

KLF “3AM Eternal”

Rhythm Syndicate “P.A.S.S.I.O.N.”

If you’re still reading and haven’t vurped up your lingering bile for turn-of-the-90’s dance/house pop, well then… good.  And better yet, if the above list of 20-year-old musical artifacts sounds like the makings of a great dance mix, then you’re in luck.  Meet Alphabeat, a Danish pop group that has managed to facsimile all the best parts of the above songs and filter it through that uncanny Scandinavian pop sixth sense (seriously, they write the best hooks over there…), creating a total blast of a record with all the bells & whistles.

[NOTE: If I’m being honest, when I first sat down to write this, I put the record on and inadvertently started an impromptu dance party with my wife and my dog which lasted for the better part of fifteen minutes.  That’s fifteen less minutes I have to write about this record, but honestly, it was better spent dancing.  And now you have more time to dance, too.]

For whatever it’s worth, the fifteen minute mark here is no coincidence, since the album is admittedly front-loaded with the standout tracks.  That’s not to say that the back end is worthless – far from it.  It’s just slightly less remarkable, and doesn’t give you that uncontrollable urge to dance.  Don’t get me wrong, frontwoman Stine Bramsen’s voice sounds great on “Q & A”, but by that point the club feel has faded.  And if you look up there at that list of songs, that’s really what they’re for, right?  They make you wanna dance.

Available on Amazon