The Dance - "Soul Force" OUT NOW

Other Music wrote a fantastic review of The Dance reissue - check it out below! You can buy it here.

"I was rather surprised that the Dance didn't get much of a turn in the revival spotlight a few years back, when all sorts of reissues featuring names like ESG, Bush Tetras, the Contortions, et al. were popping up faster than you could say Ronald Wilson Reagan. Aside from a single track appearing on Soul Jazz's first New York Noise compilation ("Do Dada" -- off their first EP Dance for Your Dinner), I don't recall seeing the group listed on any other collection or re-release. But by no means are we scraping the bottom of the post-punk barrel with this offering. By the time their excellent, second and final album, Soul Force, had been released on the British Statik imprint in '82, the Dance had become a staple act at clubs like the Peppermint Lounge and Danceteria, and were bigger news overseas -- they even turned down the opening slot for what would be the Clash's historic gig at Bond's, choosing to tour Europe in support of their first LP, In Lust.

Like much of the downtown music scene of NYC and elsewhere, the Dance's sound was a cultural fusion of music styles, blending the urgency of punk with dance music, reggae, and a large dose of funk, thanks to Louis Watterson's fluid, elastic bass lines. But the Dance also had an accessibility that most of their skronky brethren were lacking, comfortably balancing art school intuition with a sense of melody that might have broken through to the new wave friendly American market had a US label gotten behind them. Soul Force captures the band at their height. Having scaled back their line-up from five members to four, the group began recording this album while in London (the two bonus cuts are taken from these sessions). A much cleaner production than the somewhat murky In Lust, the Dance's lock-tight rhythm section provides a perfect pocket for singer/organist/steel drummer Eugenie Diserio's immediate, expressive melodies, her lyrics blending a sense of romanticism with everyday observations. (The first verse of "You and Only You" is reportedly inspired by an encounter between Diserio and Joe Strummer at a party.) While there is something distinctly New York about the band in their sense of experimentalism -- a la guitarist Steven Alexander's spidery, 12-string-electric leads and, at times, an almost free-style approach in the music -- the Dance would also sit perfectly between your Delta 5 and Raincoats records. (A friend recently commented that "Looking for the World" sounded like the B-52s' Kate Pierson singing with the Slits. I laughed, went home and put on the record and had to agree. I'm still waiting on his description of their Stevie Wonder cover of "Do Yourself a Favor.")

Sadly, the Dance's story reaches a too-often-told ending. Soul Force never saw proper release in America, but band leaders Alexander and Diserio found themselves in the studio with producer Arthur Baker, recording a track for Island Records, which would only be shelved following a shake-up with the label staff. The Dance disbanded soon after, the various members going on to careers that range from painting and banking executive to Diserio starting a successful astrological web site. I can't imagine what it must be like for a group to finally see their album available in their homeland some 25 years after its creation. Thankfully, ReRelease has rescued the Dance from dustbin obscurity and into the digital age with this download-only reissue. For me, rediscovering Soul Force takes me back to those long gone days when I stumbled on late night college radio and was instantly allured by the exotic sounds of post-punk and new wave. This truly is essential listening for any fan of the aforementioned. [GH] (October 5, 2007)"