Shitdisco

Scottish party boys Shitdisco made their debut overseas with 2007's Kingdom of Fear, which has now been Americanized as The Emanator. The name change makes sense, as the metal-sounding Kingdom of Fear is actually a much worse name than Shitdisco. There's nothing fearsome about the group's hedonistic, gleefully derivative dance music that nips from everyone from Talking Heads to Gang of Four to Franz Ferdinand to even a Rage Against The Machine riff. It's a high-speed and glossy album, meant for dancing and sweating and hooking up.

To that end, The Emanator holds its ground. The tempos are relentlessly brisk, the hooks repeated enough to batter their way into even a stubborn listener's consciousness, and "Reactor Party" in particular is an irresistible hit–with the most iPod commercial-ready hook since the Caesars' "Jerk It Out." Lyrically, Shitdisco are as subtle as AC/DC, just about as sex-obsessed, and even a little sillier, as borne out on the dance-punk opener "I Know Kung Fu."

But the album–a recycling project to begin with in some sense–starts to recycle itself about halfway through; the ideas and impact of The Emanator could have easily been contained within an EP rather than a full-length. NME calls the band, "serious contenders," but that's only in comparison to The Rapture and The Klaxons, whose moments may have already passed–raising the question "serious contenders for what?" Even at its most immediately contagious, there's a disposable quality to The Emanator. Any time they stray from full speed ahead, they slip, as on the grating "Dream of Infinity," with its endlessly repetitive falsetto and robotic vocals and tired retro-synths. Pausing for reflection is never a good idea when listening to Shitdisco–or playing in Shitdisco, for that matter. Switch your brain off and let the beats guide you–or get the hell out of there.

—Adam McKibbin
11.19.08