DFA/EMI

Containing one of the standout club singles of 2008 in Blind, Hercules and Love Affair’s self-titled debut in a combination of classic Studio 54 disco, the DFA sound, house music and more than a few lashes of the New York avant garde. Hercules and Love Affair emerged out of NYC at the end of last year with the Antony Hegarty-powered disco house track, Blind, an anthem of pulsating disco basslines, sexy trumpet stabs and Antony’s soulful vocals. Antony (of The Johnsons fame) pops up on no fewer than four tracks on the album and they are the highlights. While nothing reaches the level of the aforementioned feature track, the deep groove of Athene, featuring subtle ’80s synths and dreamy, nonchalant vox from jeweller Kim Ann Foxman (who also shines on the beautiful Iris), is an equally strong track. Meanwhile You Belong, possibly the centrepiece for H&LA composer Andrew Butler, who features on vocals, is a classic Chicago house track, layered upon some soulful house and even ’90s RNB. For fans of The Knife, LCD Soundsystem, Antony and a little Studio 54.