Stereo Image — Stereo Image

Listening to Stereo Image will transport from the coolest shady New York bar in some laneway to that amazing, run down record shop someplace in London, England. Which is why its so shocking that the dance duo are from Hamilton. One part former Junior Boy (Johnny Dark) and another part house vocalist (San Serac) make for one hell of a dance record. There's a Bowie-esque feeling throughout the record with Serac's thin-white-duke-y voice, its alien/odd-ball lyrics, and a futuristic feeling the rock legend often achieved on many of his albums. If this is the future of dance, it's a bright one with '90s R&B splashes, melodies and deep grooves. Though there are blips and bleeps to remind listeners it's 2008, and these two probably have some crazy computer equipment, what stands out on the album are its roots in dance pop. This isn't anything as layered and mind-blowing as Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours or Hot Chip's latest adventures, but when you come to terms with it being the subdued cousin to those records and you'll quickly fall for it.