No, when it comes to nu disco, Italians don't necessarily do it better. But William Bottin makes a pretty good case. The Venice-based DJ, sound designer, and film score composer told Vice his "inspiration is basically the music I've been hearing on Italian TV my whole life... those late night movies shows with cheap horror films, Giallos, soft erotica." Never mind that the original Italo disco often wasn't even Italian: Whatever was coming through the airwaves when Bottin was growing up has helped his tracks find homes on such labels as Belgium's Eskimo (Aeroplane, Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas) and, of course, New Jersey's Italians Do It Better (Glass Candy, Chromatics). "Sciarando el Scuro", apparently Venetian dialect for "throwing light into the darkness", is from his debut LP, Horror Disco on Bear Funk, and it's the kind of seamlessly crafted space disco groover that gradually starts to grow on you. The funky bass and tropical-disco percussion set a playfully retrofuturist vibe from the outset, but it's that laughing, high-pitched hook-- a weird, whistley sound, almost definitely a human voice... but if you told me it was, like, pebbles plinking into different-sized water glasses I wouldn't be surprised-- that keeps this track playing in my head after it ends. Even though it's a little long-- I'd kill for a 7" edit. So there's no reason for the Italo revival to get caught up in mindless nationalism, but raygun-synth fetishists from Portland, Oregon, to Gothenburg, Sweden, should take off their robot helmets long enough to give this one a listen.

MP3:> Bottin: "Sciarando El Scuro"

[from Horror Disco; out now on Bear Funk]

The primary appeal of the Pipettes wasn't any one of the voices or personalities, but the combination of all three members in a throwback setting. They made 1960s pop sound just as contemporary and just as much fun as the most up-to-the-minute radio hit, then mysteriously fell apart after one album and a handful of singles. Rose Elinor Dougall is the first to go solo, debuting a single last December and following it up this year with two more that trade her former group's swinging London sound for post-"LDN" pop. "Fallen Over", her latest, works hard to keep your interest: The bassline moves the song at a brisk clip, the cymbals crash dynamically to introduce the chorus, and the slide guitar scribbles all over the page. And Dougall herself describes her own shambles with a knowingness that recalls Kirsty MacColl more than it does Lily Allen. That's a compliment.

And yet.

Away from the Pipette harmonies and polka-dot dresses, Dougall hasn't shown a whole lot of range, either vocally or musically. That this single so strongly resembles her last, "Stop/Start/Synchro"-- right down to the similarly splashy cymbals introducing the similarly bright, slightly rushed chorus-- doesn't help the impression that her comfort zone is very narrow. And it doesn't sound all that comfortable either: No matter how valiantly she tries to remain nonchalant, Dougall must fight not to be upstaged, overwhelmed, or simply left behind by her accompaniment. Whether that indicates a still-developing confidence or simply a mismatch between musicians probably won't be resolved until her debut album lands next year and gives us a fuller picture of Dougall as a solo artist. Right now she sounds like she's still trying to find her own sound and style. No rush. We'll wait.

Stream:> Rose Elinor Dougall: "Fallen Over"

[from "Fallen Over" single; out 11/23/09 on Scarlett]

With a band as exciting as Girls-- whose just-released Album might very well be the debut of the year-- there's a tendency, at least on my part, to get unusually excited about every piece of new material to trickle out, such as all the B-sides and non-album cuts the group has recently premiered live. But sometimes a B-side is just a B-side. Such is the case with "Life in San Francisco", a simple, sunny ode to the group's beloved homebase that serves as the flip to recent single (and driving Album opener) "Lust for Life". Though there's an undercurrent of sadness to the track ("I'm holding on for dear life," croons frontman Christopher Owens in his charismatic faux-Costello inflection), "Life in San Francisco" isn't quite as emotionally rich as most of Girls' material, the balance between the upbeat and the uneasy, which is so expertly achieved throughout Album, feels somehow off-kilter here. Maybe that's because Owens seems to be ignoring his demons for this song, drowning them out with a lovely group-sung chorus of la la las, and for a guy who's seen his fair share of pain, you can't really fault him for that.

[from "Lust for Life" single; out now on True Panther]

To say that it never rains in Southern California might be an overstatement, but it's still an unexpected pleasure to hear something so unmistakably autumnal from the season-challenged state. Letting Up Despite Great Faults, a Los Angeles-based band, effectively capture an overcast mood with "In Steps", the opening track from their forthcoming self-titled album. Layering lush synth and a shimmering New Order guitar tone, "Steps" prettily evokes the tipping point from full bloom to slow decay, as the warm summer days give way to a wet, windy fall. While the shoegaze-y indie pop of M83 probably represents the closest contemporary reference point, Letting Up's melodic sensibility is distinguished by careful and decisive plotting-- save for the muted, billowing vocals. Overall, "Steps"' subtle shading suggests maybe there really is no such thing as an endless summer, even in Southern California.

MP3:> Letting Up Without Great Faults: "In Steps"

[from Letting Up Without Great Faults; due 10/13/09 on New Words]

There's a long history of roller skating in popular music, from Melanie's 1971 kitschy folk-pop "Brand New Key" to classic roller disco cuts like Peaches and Herb's "Roller Skatin' Mate" and Vaughan Mason and Crew's "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" all the way to De La Soul's "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'". But you'd be hard-pressed to find a track (released any time during this decade, at least) that captures the glide and wobble and sheer fun of cruising on eight wheels quite like Matias Aguayo's "Rollerskate", the lead single off his upcoming Ay Ay Ay LP on Kompakt. The Chilean-born Aguayo, who was one half of minimal duo Closer Musik with pal Dirk Leyers, has shown off a more playful side with recent tracks (see the great "Walter Neff" off this year's Total 10 comp), and "Rollerskate" finds the producer at his most lighthearted yet. Known for weaving his own giddy vocals into tracks, Aguayo here croons and hiccups over a backing layer of strung-together acapella voices-- heavy baritone and spliced-up higher-pitched notes-- that's woven through well-placed hits of crisp, snapping bass. It's expertly crafted but completely silly-- almost makes you feel woozy like watching Chaplin in The Rink-- and a welcome, unexpected turn from a label mostly known for its restraint. Bodes very well for Aguayo's full-length and roller-skating rinks everywhere.

MP3:> Matias Aguayo: "Rollerskate (Radio Edit)"

[full-length version on Ay Ay Ay; due 10/27/09 on Kompakt]

UK Funky is difficult to define because its DJ sets contain aesthetic contradictions from song-to-song; it can be tasteful then cheesy, unashamedly pop or beat-head oriented, embracing feminine poise or unchecked in its masculine aggression. And sometimes these contradictions exist within a single song.

Fr3e's "I Got My Beads On" does a great job of embracing a breadth of different impulses; witness the balance between crafted buoyancy and the vocals' relentless, unrestrained character. "I Got My Beads On" immediately halts the flow of any mix to shout its presence with cacophonous drums that sound inspired by the theme to "NYPD Blue". Then it suddenly switches to the main pulse, a bass-dominant groove so taut your body can't help but know exactly how to move to it. And then there's the hook, unafraid of a temporal trend, a refreshing lack of concern for tasteful musical decorum reminiscent of popular American rap. But the engine of this track's success is the way this loose, exuberant vibe is tied to such a precisely-constructed, tightly-wound beat, its sudden shifts between different grooves a system shock to any dancer, its success a heady accomplishment in a genre built on constant surprise.

[Self-released]

If any band deserves the chance to play a concert beneath Dazed and Confused's moon tower, it's Free Energy. The Philadelphia-based quintet's music-- full of glam-rock guitar leads, teenage boy-girl romance, and new-wave Moog bloops-- is a composite of all things groovy and 1970s. There's a strong chance that, one day, they'll write some kid's all-time slow-dance prom song. But "Something in Common", from the group's new digital EP, isn't it. "Come on/ We can find there's something in common between our lives/ I want to hold on all night when I look in your eyes," sings frontman Paul Sprangers. But the commonality he seeks is not immediately forthcoming. Thus, "Something in Common" lumbers onward at mild-tempo for four-and-a-half minutes. The EP's other tracks-- "Dark Trance" and "Free Energy"-- are just as guilty of wanderlust, but meatier hooks make the time breeze by. "Something in Common", on the other hand, finds Free Energy jamming out the timeless classic-rock clichés but failing to deliver a classic.

MP3:> Free Energy: "Something in Common"

[from Free Energy EP; out now on Astralwerks/DFA]

"Yeah, life sucks, but there's an alternative," Girls singer-songwriter Christopher Owens told Spin. "Hang out with your friends. Have a good time." Coming from almost anyone else, that would sound like some real Pepsi-commercial bullshit. But this guy lives to be your drunk confidant in the back of the bar 20 minutes before close-- everything he utters sounds giddy and revelatory, as if it's being said for the first time. Like: "Yeah, 'have a good time'-- why didn't I ever think of that?"

That same beatific obviousness rips through "Lust for Life", from its title to its changes to its baldly aspirational lyrics. "I wish I had a boyfriend/ I wish I had a loving man in my life," Owens starts, jealously daydreaming about an ex's new beginnings. It's adolescence over adulthood; emotion over abstraction. "If I really try with all of my heart/ Then I could make a brand new start in love with you," he sings, seemingly offering up a perfect ending. But that's not the end. He jumps into more universal genie fodder-- pizza, sun tan, beach house-- and you realize the out-of-reach-ness is the entire point. "Lust for Life" is the background to chasing good times; may his wishes never truly come to be.

[from "Lust for Life" single; out now on True Panther]

As mentioned by our crack Forkcast staff, the original "You Got The Love" (credited to "the Source featuring Candi Staton") was released in 1986, as a bass-slapping state-of-that-art R&B tune that does a remarkable job burying Staton's powerful vocals. Three years later, John Truelove (the man behind the Source) junked everything about "Love" except Staton's vocal, and threw that atop an aptly-titled Frankie Knuckles track ("Your Love"). Knuckles' decidely less fussy backing gave Staton's voice a little more room to breathe, and this jury-rigged combo of Knuckles and Staton gave Truelove a Top Ten hit in the UK. Given Truelove's cavalier treatment of the track, it's only fitting that the xx's "rework" of Florence and the Machine's take on "Love" is equally jarring, and equally successful.

Claiming this track merely "features" the xx is a bit disingenuous on the group's part. The only elements that survive from Florence's hyper-dramatic version of the song are Florence Welch's vocals and the song's harp. Even these few preserved fragments don't make it through unscathed. A choppy and slowed version of the harp introduces the tune, giving folks who are expecting a more traditional remix a false sense of security. While Welch's vocals aren't anesthetized, they are also sliced and spliced into something that vaguely resembles the source material. By the time Florence actually makes an appearance, though, it's clear that the xx aren't looking to preserve the original cover's fidelity. All the other elements that comprise this track-- the grime-y bass line, the stuttering drum machine, the watery xylophones, and that sultry/laconic boy/girl back-and-forth-- make Jamie's rework sound like an xx track that just happens to sample a Florence and the Machine song. In terms of this version of the tune, that's a very good thing-- Florence's version, as exhilarating and bracing as it may be, errs on the side of frilly divadom. The xx's spacious and smoky script-flip might give some listeners whiplash, but playing things this close to the chest suits this tune just fine.

MP3:> Florence and the Machine: "You've Got the Love (the xx Remix)"

[from "You've Got the Love" single; out now on Universal Island]

So many rap artists right now seem to think that old-man rap-- chill, mature, pragmatic, and somewhat conservative values-based music, with beats by or sounding like J Dilla-- is the only righteous path. It isn't. In fact, De La Soul's continuing excellence in this arena tends to make most other old-man rap (much of which is made by much younger, more cynical men) sound pretty weak in comparison. This isn't intended to disparage Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo's chosen trajectory; at this point in their careers, De La sound like they're unashamedly riding the long slow burn after the peak in a flattening creative arc. An accepting, unadventurous-but-satisfying zone. And like comfort food, it feels perfectly in-tune.

Are they also kind of boxed in? Maybe. Like they have to reassure us that they're not crotchety, just wiser (and there's no doubt Pos is probably a wiser dude than you or I), which consigns them to a sort of resignation at the feet of critics who disdain their "Stakes Is High" line-in-the-sand protest mindset, even if they gave in to the music. It's been a few years now that their records have felt this way, and thankfully even this track's reflective wistfulness is balanced with a little "Baby Phat"-style playfulness: "De La, twenty years, held up like brassieres."  But in the end, the track's Zen qualities give it an effortless balance that most old-for-their-age "mature" rappers could never grasp.

Stream:> De La Soul: "La La La"

[from NBA Live 10 soundtrack; out now on Electronic Arts]