Damian Schwartz: Party Lovers

As far as debuts go, Party Lovers is confident and accomplished. Maybe that’s because Spain’s Schwartz has already honed his skills with the requisite series of one-off releases for various labels. Still, Schwartz’s sense of control over these carefully-crafted house grooves is impressive. Subtle shifts in style range from the percussive, atmospheric “Get Into”, to the more dissonant, Detroit-influenced “Tito Estuvo Aqui”, to the Latin-flavored piano house of “Were You There?”. Only “Raw”, which goes heavy on the slap bass, fails to connect. Otherwise, drumbeats pulse and electronic hi-hats wind and unwind in a manner reminiscent of Richie Hawtin, and vocal snippets whisk in and out of the mix. This is party music, sure, but it’s for a specific type of party, one where everyone’s dressed in expensive suits and cocktail dresses, and no one seems to break a sweat when they dance.