THE JUAN MACLEAN THE FUTURE WILL COME ALBUM DFA, V2 RELEASE: APRIL 21, 2009 REVIEW: MAY 5, 2009

Listening to a track such as opener “The Simple Life”, you might be forgiven for thinking you've accidentally slipped in the wrong CD and are instead playing a track from The Human League's back catalogue. But don't worry, you haven't – let me explain.

This is the second Juan MacLean release, the first having been the dance-ier “Less Than Human”. This doesn't mean that this is not a dance-y affair in itself; in fact far from it. No, rather it is due in large part to the vocals themselves, provided by MacLean and Nancy Whang (who also has vocal credit with LCD Soundsystem). The album comes off the back of two well-received singles – “Happy House” and “The Simple Life”, both of which feature here in very DJ-friendly lengths, being twenty plus minutes in length combined. Even more notably there have been remixes made for Air, Daft Punk and Dave Gahan, among others, so this album hits with some momentum behind it.

The search for the perfect pop song is believed to be high on the Juan MacLean's  philosophy. With “One Day”, it comes pretty damn close. The track is very uplifting and positive. “Tonight” then –  during the space of its ten plus minutes it is given the space to breathe, and creates a rich tapestry of orchestral synths, creamy vocals, and gliding bass, creating a track that though long, doesn't outstay its welcome, and would still be equally as welcome at twice the length. “The Station” is also a highlight, being something reminiscent in a weird way of a cross between Gary Numan and Prince, i.e. slightly cold yet slightly 80:s funky – new new romantic maybe? “Human Disaster” is slightly depressing though, and feels out of place on this album (though this is personal taste of course!)

There is something here that I long for with many other releases, but not many deliver on in this genre, and that is simply variety. The tracks, even though there is a connection in terms of sound and vocals, are significantly different from each other to make this a chocolate box of an album – I'm sure there is at least one track on here for everyone to enjoy. Whether aiming for the dancefloor or pop music chart success, this is a class act all the way, and thankfully doesn't just rely on the pull of the two big singles, as good as they are; for The Juan MacLean the future has indeed come. 

MIKE WHYTE