DAMES BROWN Vinyl & CDs

Review: Horse Meat Disco have struck gold a few times over the past 12 months, and their latest single - this time featuring old pal Amy Douglas in the featured singer role and back-up vocals from Detroit trio Dames Brown - is another storming success. This time round, there's a little more elastic funkiness and gospel-influenced instrumentation amongst the quartet's usual good-time disco grooves. Danny Krivit's EP-opening "Extended Edit" is our pick of a strong bunch, though the beat-free, vocal and strings-heavy "Key-A-Pella" is also superb. Elsewhere, the "Michelle Mix Extended" sits somewhere between organic house and rolling disco, while the Kelly G Deeper Message Groove brilliantly re-imagines the track as a sumptuously rich slab of ultra-deep soulful house.

Review: Given that copies of the original 7" release flew off the shelves in record time, it's heartening to see that Classic has decided to give Sophie Lloyd's brilliant "Calling Out" a proper 12" release. Her fantastic original version - a jaunty, floor-friendly gospel treat that sits somewhere between house and disco - is this time accompanied by two fresh rubs from Robert and Lyric Hood's Floorplan project. Naturally, both mixes move further towards sing-along gospel house territory with the fantastic Revival Mix - all crunchy Chicago drums, wild organs, jaunty pianos and relentless chorus - hitting home particularly hard. It's very rare that we describe an EP as being "flawless", but this is as close to perfection as you'll find.

Review: Former Paper Recordings artist Sophie Lloyd apparently started working on "Calling Out" whilst gripped by the January blues. Her intention was simply to make "happy music". To that end, she turned to her gospel roots. The results, shared here on 7" single for the first time, are little less than spectacular. With collaborator Dames Brown in tow, Lloyd's vocals - accompanied by a gospel choir, of course - simply soar above a jaunty, piano-heavy track rich in live instrumentation. It sits somewhere between traditional gospel, house and disco, with a flipside instrumental brilliantly showcasing the quality of the instrumentation throughout. The piano solos, in particular, are breathlessly good.

Review: Former Paper Recordings artist Sophie Lloyd apparently started working on "Calling Out" whilst gripped by the January blues. Her intention was simply to make "happy music". To that end, she turned to her gospel roots. The results, shared here on 7" single for the first time, are little less than spectacular. With collaborator Dames Brown in tow, Lloyd's vocals - accompanied by a gospel choir, of course - simply soar above a jaunty, piano-heavy track rich in live instrumentation. It sits somewhere between traditional gospel, house and disco, with a flipside instrumental brilliantly showcasing the quality of the instrumentation throughout. The piano solos, in particular, are breathlessly good.