21st Century Trance 4 [Audio CD] Members of Mayday; Timo Maas; John Truelove; Yves Deruyter; Way Out West; Steve Gibbs; Pepper Sweeney; Electric Tease; Rocco & Heist and Jan Johnston

There's no denying the much-maligned genre is still a potent force on the dancefloor, but just when you thought trance was all washed out, up pops a collection like this soaring, relentless and perky 21st Century Trance. Ok, so there's a few odd guests gate-crashing this particular party, but for the most part it's sterling, top-quality stuff that buzzes with adrenaline-fuelled riffage and bouncing bottom end. Running the gamut of styles--from the more progressive house mixes courtesy of Paul van Dyk and Jan Driver, through to welcome vocal outings from trance divas such as JanJohnston and Sunscreem--there's still room for fans of the harder end of the spectrum. X-Press's "Future" certainly sounds like it comes from another galaxy, while the pumping, day-glo magic of "Sutra" from top jock, John 00 Fleming, refreshes the parts other tracks fail to reach. --Paul Tierney