(Ultra Records)
The Ministry of Sound compilations in the dance music sections of record stores may use the name of London’s most well-known club, but they don’t always represent the best of house music. So House Nation America is a pleasant surprise. The big club tracks are still here (ATFC’s “Bad Habit”), but they’re balanced by personal choices (Latina Café’s “Aldela de Ogum”), and no song seems selected merely because of its “club hit” status. Instead, both DJs convey their own sound well. Little Louie Vega’s mix is more Sunday evening rather than Saturday night, with Isolee’s “Beau Mot Plage” an instant classic–Latin-style chanting and a bassline with more hooks than a fishing-supplies store, while Erick Morillo brings up the intensity with the pounding filter house of tunes like Afromedusa’s “Pasilda.” You may have heard most of the album if you’ve been clubbing regularly, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less fun. A-