Album Review: Tensnake - Glow

Creating one of the finest house music records of the last ten years brings with it a certain degree of pressure. German DJ/producer Marco Niemerski struck gold in 2010 with Comacat, a stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks combination of bassline sexiness, vocal dancefloor nostalgia and that unforgettable jangly keyboard riff. On the downside though, the track forced him into a ''90s revivalist' pigeonhole, something he has simultaneously embraced and fought against on his debut album, Glow. Now signed to a major label, Tensnake uses the platform to take us on a trek through three decades of dance music, chopped together with a sharp 2014 edge. With a generous helping of '80s disco and pop influences Glow has undeniable similarities to the work of Daft Punk, the giant presence of Nile Rogers reinforcing the link; first single, Love Sublime sports an authentic '80s boogie-pop feel, Good Enough To Keep is bright, soulful house too rarely heard these days while Prince influences abound on the guitar-synths of Feel Of Love with Jacques Lu Cont and Jamie Lidell. With Tasmanian-born Fiora handling the bulk of the vocal work, Tensnake has gone out of his way to create a 'proper' album in Glow, rather than a collection of club singles. While No Relief charts house history in seven minutes, it sits up against supple Naked Music-like depth, three-minute 'pop' songs and moments of downbeat chill such as the slinky, tongue-in-cheek 58BPM ­– widescreen vision and brilliant execution. The hype, it seems, has been well-founded.