[Crime City Disco]

From the very beginning in March 2011, Crime City Disco’s purpose has been clear: putting out “deep, slow, and disco-influenced” house. And while that mission may be shared by many other labels, the Berlin-based, Swedish-run imprint has done a capital job of differentiating itself from stuffier peers. The key, I think, is that CCD’s owner, Tobias Gullberg, doesn’t insist on every release being cloyingly sophisticated. In other words, he’s happy for some euphoria to poke its head in once in a while, even if it’s not absolutely tasteful. In that sense, the label may share more with disco than a few shiny string sections. Accordingly, record number six from Gothenburg’s Sankt Göran (“Saint George”) is neither deep nor slow. It’s positively hands-in-the-air, in fact.

Sankt Göran, “Wallenberg6 (Excerpt)”

Made up of jaunty bass and prominent mid-range kicks, the titular track is all sudden chord changes and rapidly-blossoming synth lines. Though it lasts for close to 11 minutes, its frequent switches between melodic and driving sections keep things interesting enough. Even so, it feels like the sense of euphoria may have been slightly overdone this time. On the flip, “Wallenberg6” better approximates CCD’s niche. Deep, yet bouncy and fun, its reams of cascading synths climb to manageable peaks with rich bass and subtle acid underscoring the proceedings. Suave but not tediously so, it’s as good an example as any (except perhaps Josef Jaktmark’s “Breathless”) of why Crime City Disco’s records continue to excite, even if on paper, they seem a foregone conclusion.