Shitdisco: The Emanator

Despite the immediate backlash it attracted, the so-called “new rave” (“nu rave” if you’re ironic enough to wear shutter shades) segment has produced some decent cuts, and lots of dumb fun. Shitdisco are perhaps the biggest fans of dumb fun among their peers, having hosted a series of eviction-bating flat parties, and with a standing offer to DJ house parties wherever they may tour.

Shitdisco’s debut album, Kingdom of Fear, named for some reason after Hunter S. Thompson’s last novel, made a decent effort at translating the vibe of four young party-loving lads, but the end effect was to sound party’d out. Kingdom of Fear is a wasted record, drunk and/or E’d-up chants over interchangeable post-disco bass lines, supplemented with angular guitar and keyboard stabs.

Brandishing color-negative cover art, a new name, and two bonus tracks, Kingdom of Fear makes its US debut on hipster DJ Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak label as The Emanator. The standouts from Kingdom of Fear are still fun — “Disco Blood” is a throwback to Blur’s laddish “Girls and Boys,” while “Fear Of The Future” is that rare new rave track that might actually appeal to the original generation of Balearic ravers. Unfortunately, new additions “Teenage House Fire” and “The Emanator” don’t add much, instead making the already filler-stocked record feel like more of a bummer. Shitdisco have some good ideas and a fun image to sell, it’s just a pity the studio product isn’t more engaging.