From François Kevorkian’s Wave label — originally dedicated to acid house — comes this decidedly non-acid, disco-reviving release. The brainchild of Groove Collective founding member Itaal Shur, a NYC-based producer/songwriter who won a Grammy for writing the Santana hit "Smooth" with Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas, the disc’s house rhythms tread lightly, like garage style. Shur’s singers adopt the breezy, even frothy tone of voice reminiscent of classic disco’s giggly, insouciant surface twitter. Meanwhile, the backing tracks bring to mind the classic Chic sound, most successfully in "Parler," which features Nile Rodgers–style guitar riffs and a dance doll who sings in French.

Other kinds of disco effects and textures also get their chance to shine: the chirpy string riffs and droll bass lines of "Feel Good" recall the bright-day sound of Miami’s T.K. label, and disco-doll threesomes like Musique and the Ritchie Family live again in the flirty twitter of "Funkything." The pensive side of disco, tense and stratospheric like Kool & the Gang’s "Summer Madness," reigns in "Touch" and in the misleadingly named "Darkside." Then comes "Rain," exotic in the manner of Kid Creole and African funk and atmospherically percussive, and "You, Me, & the Music," piano disco redolent of Gregg Diamond’s guy choruses and Broadway chants. These were daring sounds the first time around, and they’re no less tasty now that they’ve been reconstituted 25 years later.