Trust It

Dancefloors that have been without a Daft Punk record for the past three years should welcome Junior Jack's debut, an album that shares the Punk's love of booming groove. Daft Punk is a decent comparison for Junior Jack's low end, but when it comes to lyrics and melody he's more straightforward, less spacy, and more Armand Van Helden. "Da Hype" is the simple and satisfying highlight, both in its original mix and the vocal mix featuring the Cure's Robert Smith. That Smith's afterthought vocals don't feel tacked on at all is a big surprise on an album that sounds like it could go cliché any minute. Junior Jack's beats are nothing new, but rock-solid enough to keep the nearly innovation-free album in the CD player. Surrounding "Da Hype" with the proven floor-fillers "Stupidisco," "E Samba," and "Thrill Me" means Trust It could be one of the few albums to suffer from too many singles. Plenty of interludes and a couple quirky tracks help deepen the album for the headphones, the jazzy "Alone" being the highlight. That track makes you hungry for more of this emotional Junior Jack, but when he starts dealing in heavy house music again, it's easy to forgive the slick album's shortcomings. More dance artists could stand to suffer from this "too many monstrous anthems" problem. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it — what more do you want? [Trust It was issued in America with the vocal mix of "Stupidisco" as a bonus track.]