Album Review: 'Pleasure' from Le Galaxie

Remember the heady days of summer 2015/16? When you’d board a pre-booked bus on a Friday afternoon, and drink your way to whichever Irish festival had who’s-his-name or what’s-her-face headlining?

It’d be sunny (on occasion) and in between introductory drinks, you’d do some quick mental maths to work out how to maximise the amount of acts you could see. And no matter who was playing at what time, you’d make sure you rushed over to the big, crowded tent that had Le Galaxie in it, and you’d dance your head off to some of the biggest Irish bangers of the last few years.

Remember that?

Good, because those days are coming back. Dublin’s finest dance group are performing at a handful of festivals this summer (even headlining a few) and to celebrate, they’re unleashing their third studio album, Pleasure.

Recorded entirely in their own studio with the help of Swedish producer Blende (the band have held him in high regard since he mixed a track from their last album), Le Galaxie’s third LP is leaner than Le Club and more self-assured than anything they’ve done before. And if the smooth, electro-swashed title-track single didn’t immediately alert you to the fact that former Fight Like Apes singer May Kay has now joined the band, you’ll be well aware of her luminous presence come the transcendental ‘Day Of The Child’.

Following that truly brilliant opening double whammy, Le Galaxie settle into their signature ’80s-influenced style. While the group are in the business of mastering retro-synth, it’d be important not to let themselves become constricted by its limits. In this case, it’s the hypnotic piano riffs of ‘Demi Moore’ that power us beyond a quartet of songs which, while good, may just roll into each other with a little too much ease.

No one can accuse them of failing to end on a high note. ‘The Comedown’ is Le Galaxie at their absolute best: it’s like something plucked straight from an all-night sesh, with real urgency and passion pulsating through it. The track should be sensational live – so let’s look forward to the summer. In Le Galaxie’s hands, it’ll be a good one!

Record label: Red River
Listen to: 'The Comedown'
Rating: 7/10