Dance party funkers Moonbootica deliver a game of two halves in their latest album Save the Night!

Yes, it’s a funny old game. The first CD of this double album is everything you would desire from a dance album. It’s funky and eclectic in a way that delights the senses, surprises you and importantly compels you to involuntarily nod you head or dance. In fact there is so much to like about the first CD that you are really let down by the second one. It’s like the boys went in at 2-0 up at the interval and tried to coast in thinking the job was done. Sadly, the second half ends up very uninspiring and almost pedestrian with most of the tracks not reaching the same level of creative and intensitivity, a classic example of taking your eye of the ball which is a shame. After the frenetic vibe of the first CD the second CD just feels lazy and lacklustre.

OK but let’s agree to use the second CD2 as a coaster and concentrate on CD1 because there’s a huge amount to like. The best dance albums like the best DJ sets are the one’s that take you on mood altering trip and it definitely matches the criteria with a sensory delight of an odyssey. It all kicks off with ‘Get In’ which marks the intention of the album and leads nicely into the spooky ‘Discodeine: Tom Select’. By the time we hit track 3 ‘Anton Pieete: Players’ were starting to feel a groove with the subtle yet catchy garage inspired track. Track 5 is a wild mash up of epic proportions, a heady mix of spacey, soul, Chemical brothers and electronic, good stuff. Track 5 ‘Alex Metric: Shirley, You Can’t be Serious’ really surprises you as you are taken back to images of break-dancing, body popping and 90s raving in fields, unexpected but hugely welcomed. From track 6 “Dada Life: Happy Hands, Happy Feet (Moonbootica Remix) onwards the album starts to really raise the tempo with seamless tracks that show a real appreciation of golden moments of dance music without ever feeling derivative.

The third offering from the Hamburg based DJ duo warrants attention as a serious dance album or least one part of one.