James Ford and Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco, the most vaunted British DJ extraordinaire this side of the Chemical Brothers, made it their mission to bring house music to the masses, beyond the constrained rave scene and European discothèques. SMDs sophomore album, Temporary Pleasure, is all about the hooks inescapable melodies that we can all get down to. Tracks like Synthesise still epitomize the house genre, with its hollow vocals, skittering synth and thump thump thump basslines, but Temporary Pleasures broader appeal lies in its impressive array of guest stars. The current single, Audacity of Huge, is a fierce, pop-culture-loving, name-dropping smash of a song, featuring sharp vocals from Brooklyns Chris Keating (I got that Bob Fosse/ I got that Joey Ramone/ A bag of Bill Murray/ Damien Hirst telephone.) But the albums biggest success has to be the disco-driven Cruel Intentions its polished, its foxy, and it makes guest vocalist Beth Ditto sound better than usual. With JDH, dave p and Colby b. E. THOMPSON
Mon., Nov. 30, 8 p.m., 2009
