Audio Mixer: Mitch McCarthy.
Recording information: Hot Closet Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
By the time Giorgio Moroder released D?j?-Vu, the world was as ready as it could be for his return. His work on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories was the most vivid reminder of his influence on decades of dance music, but artists such as Goldfrapp and Chromatics ensured that his brand of atmospheric disco and synth pop was nearly as in vogue in the 2000s and 2010s as it was in the '70s and '80s. Despite its name, D?j?-Vu isn't entirely a blast from the past; instead, Moroder splits the difference between making contemporary-sounding dance music and reviving disco. Sometimes he combines those impulses, nodding to his roots while shaping them into 2010s dance-pop: "Wildstar," which features Foxes (who has also worked with Zedd), is one of his best fusions of old and new. He sounds most nostalgic on the album's handful of instrumentals, such as "74 is the New 24," which feels like a time capsule full of vocoders, arpeggiated synths, and windswept drama. However, Moroder spends most of D?j?-Vu collaborating with 21st century pop singers. The album comes closest to greatness on "Back and Forth," where Kelis' commanding, just-gritty-enough vocals help Moroder recapture and update the glamour and drama of his definitive work. "Diamonds" makes the most of Charli XCX's frothiness on one of the album's most inspired pairings, while Sia and Kylie Minogue's respective contributions on the soaring title track and crystalline disco-pop of "Right Here, Right Now" are just as entertaining. ~ Heather Phares