The Knocks - Brightside

Brightside, the new single from NYC duo The Knocks, works so well because it exists distinctly in two musical planes.

On one hand is the glorious bounce and vigour of retro 80s sounds - the synthesisers positively drip the neon glow of twenty five years ago. This is the heady world of Club Tropicana and the Reflex, recreated again for another dip of intoxicating pleasure.

And then on the other hand is Brightside's contemporary sheen, slick production to crystalise this as every bit the modern floofiller it is.

A few years ago, the chart and airwaves were awash with joyous, happy club hits like this - but in recent years the trend seems to have been replaced by one for more darkly seductive tracks redolent in the excesses of bass. Brightside twists the dials back to more innocent times, more innocent fun - oh, and it's also simply one of the best club tracks out there going in to 2012.

Brightside is scheduled for a February release.

Knife Party - Internet Friends

In the long line of cult club hits that work their way through to the mainstream, you can generally count on a good dose of expletives of increasing your chances of popularity. Hell, it worked for Riverside...

But with Knife Party's track Internet Friends, we reach a whole new level of bonkers pop-culture referencing hilarity. Sample lyric: 'You blocked me on Facebook, now you're going to die'. And all this swiftly followed by a pummelling assault of laseriffic synth overdrive. Amazing.

Internet Friends really does show how much you can achieve with just that generic 'Robot Woman' voice that comes pre-installed on every computer. Here, 'she' delivers such gems as 'I bet you're busy talking to some fucking slut, fucking skank, is she hotter than me?' - And if that doesn't convince you to listen to the song, nothing will.

Robert Solheim - Syv / O Portiño EP

Fancy some crisp back-to-basics dance music for a wintery morning? Norwegian composer Robert Solheim's approach to the club is an analytical, precise methodology - his lush, sprawling instrumental tracks reflecting the icy sweep of his homeland.

Releasing the double-sided Syv / O Portiño EP, Solheim presents two bubbling, techy slices of spacious dance magic - twitchy, engineered things of futuristic beauty. Taken from his forthcoming Heretics album, the EP also features remixes of the tracks by John Tejada and Dj Puk.

Robert Solheim - Syv / O Portiño EP by Robert Solheim