Various Artists: Late Night with Groove Junkies

The third installment of the Late Night with series is devoted to good-time house purveyors Groove Junkies, and it plays out like what could have been an original album of GJ tunes. This means lots of funky, disco-fied house, soulful female vocals, and Latin and African percussion. Sure, they’re funky enough to keep a party moving, but the L.A.-based duo gives us nothing that really stands out. The maximal, Basement Jaxx-style ’90s house of TC Moses’ “Free Your Mind” is characteristic, and could have fit in on the Millennium edition of the Ministry of Sound Annual. The last track, Darren Glen’s “You Gotta Have Hope”, is the only hint of modern sensibility — the song effectively melds the disco vibe with a more current, stinging electro bass. If only the rest of the album had such a strong point of view… but by the end of the disc, these looping screeches of soulful female vocals blend into a single mood. While the Groove Junkies have effectively created and sustained that mood, it’s somewhat one-note. Give this one a miss.