Le Galaxie – Le Club – Review

All hail the return of Le Galaxie! Not that they’ve been away really. They’ve been tearing up dance floors all over the country for the past few years, cementing their reputation as one of the most exciting live acts that Ireland has produced in many a long year. But they have finally released their second LP, Le Club, four years after their first album Laserdisc Nights II and what an album it is. Packed full of space age synths, stomping beats and rousing vocals, it’s a joy from the pulsating opener ‘Put The Chain On’ to the bleary-eyed 4am climax of ‘Freeway Flyer’, and perfectly timed to give those dancing shoes a workout before the busy festival season.

The album does include a few old favourites. The gritty electro groove of ‘Humanise’ and the absolute banger that is ‘Lucy Is Here’ are both present and correct, as is ‘Love System’, now with added woozy Lounge Lizard sax solos (that may sound odd but it really works). An early highlight of the album is the melancholic Streeheart. Drenched in shimmering synths and driven by urgent bass, it’s a cracking tune but the album really kicks into gear in the second half with the one-two of ‘AM LA’ and ‘PM LA’. The former sounds like an 80’s TV cop theme written by Daft Punk while the latter is a smooth evening groove down the highway, with singer Michael Pope there to assure us that “The city’s got my back”.

Elsewhere the storming ‘Who Us’ sounds a bit like James Murphy booming over a Georgio Moroder groove, while ‘Chauffeur of Love’ is menacing and brooding and ‘Carmen’, which features a star turn from MayKay of Fight Like Apes, is an instant floor filling anthem and surely a contender for a future single release.

If you’re not a fan of Le Galaxie already, Le Club is unlikely to sway you. Their sound hasn’t really evolved but rather been fine tuned. The album is joyous and melds so many disparate influences together to create infectious, hook-heavy tunes that dance in the brain long after the last note has finished ringing out. Whether you’re a fan or not, there’s no doubt that the album will be the soundtrack to many a house party this summer so you may as well get yourself down to Le Club and have yourself a good time, Le Galaxie are here to stay.