Club Nation America

The United States, habitually behind in non-house dance music, got another taste of things across the Atlantic with Ministry of Sound's Club Nation America. For those unaware of anything outside of Madonna B-sides, Johnny Vicious' first disc may not have sounded like a predictably outdated East Coast display of anthemic trance, but it was still strong, keeping the positive vibes high with an earnest mix of Delerium's overplayed "Silence" and Aurora's ridiculous Duran Duran reworking, as well as excellent tracks by Marc et Claude, Paul Van Dyk, and Svenson & Gielen. In contrast, it wasn't entirely clear what Tall Paul was going for with his brooding, urgently tedious second disc. Maybe a cry for help.