Every so often I'll run into someone who really hates "dance music" and will argue that it's stupid, or anti-intellectual. I saw one person on Twitter refer to Royksopp as a mediocre dance band over the past weekend. Simply put, Simian Mobile Disco are why people who believe that are full of shit.
SMD's album Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release is a like listening to an instructional manual on beatmaking. Working within the confines of the 4/4 beat (as does nearly everyone else), the the album is pretty remarkable in that the beats transition into one another. It's two singles, "The Hustler" and "It's the Beat", are dance floor anthems, with the latter being a perfect case for getting people to D.A.N.C.E.
When I saw them at Neumo's last year, I wrote:
The show felt like what I presume a typical (but decadent) weekend night at Studio 54 was like in the 1970s. People dressed up (or down, depending on your ideology) for the occasion, danced all night… Once the music from SMD started, the show was a dance party sans any inhibitions or reservations… Two very drunk (but very attractive) women that I’ve never met before even told me during “It’s the Beat” that they loved me – and for the duration of that song, I believed them.
This show will be the dance party of the weekend, and an excellent way to spend your Friday night. This is where I'll be but where are you going to be Friday night?