Glow

Following the lead of his breakthrough single "Coma Cat," which rang in 2010 with a head rush of heated dance hooks, the timing of Tensnake's debut LP couldn't be better. Arriving at the tail end of a long, unforgiving winter, Glow does just that: it lights up living rooms like a hangar-sized mirror ball, leaving a trail of neon-streaked house, disco, and pop in its wake. Tensnake isn't afraid to admit his influences, either. The producer makes a point of mocking the elephant in the room on "Ten Minutes," an interlude featuring a fake dubstep fan who just wants "something hard," not '80s-indebted "let's wear a tanktop" music. Good luck finding any of that here. Actual dynamics prevail instead, whether they're captured through the Chic-like basslines of Nile Rodgers ("Love Sublime," "Good Enough to Keep"), soul-bearing samples ("No Colour," "Holla"), a euphoric collaboration with Jamie Lidell and Jacques Lu Cont ("Feel of Love"), or the revelatory vocal range of Fiora, a Tasmanian singer who's featured on six tracks.