My, how very ‘in’ Synth-Fuelled, Alternative-Dance, Indie-Pop truly is. How much of a mouthful to describe too - as abbreviations go, AlternDance doesn’t quite cut it either. I don’t think the acronym SFADIP will catch on, but sod it, it’s gotta be worth a shout.

Anyhow, since the likes of Le Roux, Little Boots, MGMT, Calvin Harris and Alphabeat, amongst an absolute army of others, have enjoyed considerable success on the back of this wave of this faddish popularity of 'SFADIP', it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate the wheat from the chaff in what is now undoubtedly one of music’s most intensively crowded genres.

Boasting a plethora of impressive collaborations, Simian Mobile Disco’s sophomore studio release finds the knob-twiddling production duo striving for the same form that made their debut album, Attack Decay Sustain Release one of the finer electronic pleasures of 2007.

The Jameses, Shaw and Ford, have managed to bring onboard the likes of Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, Super Furry Animals and Neon Neon frontman Gruff Rhys, Yeasayer’s Chris Keating, The Gossip’s Beth Ditto and soul-singer Jamie Lidell for Temporary Pleasure, and there is no question that the record owes a large degree of its charm to these impressive guest contributions.

Album opener Cream Dream features Gruff Rhys on magnificently oracular form, and his vocal performance compliments SMD’s stylings perfectly. Alexis Taylor likewise makes Bad Blood one of the highlights, a relatively low-key offering that shimmers enigmatically. Cruel Intentions is the pick of the bunch, largely thanks to Beth Ditto’s perfectly-weighted, disco diva-esque contributions – it is simply marvelous.

Therein lies the crux. While the aimed-for atmosphere is one of euphoria, for the most part well-executed, there is a nagging sense that if you took these appearances out of the equation then the results would be markedly bland and ordinary. Respect to Ford and Shaw, they obviously have admirable pedigree, having experience of working alongside numerous high-profile artists and producing some excellent remixes. As production teams go, these two are as sharp as a tack. However, on this evidence it seems that, left to their own devices, the pair find it hard to craft their own material.

The songs with no outsider contributions – namely 10,000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong, Synthesise and Ambulance – are uniformly drab and disappointing. These tracks betray a paucity of ideas that is almost startling, given the relative brilliance of the aforementioned collaborations. Relying on the form of the various guests is pretty risky in itself and occasionally falls flat – rappers Young Fathers are fairly unconvincing on Turn Up The Dial, for example – which does leave a final impression that is more one of frustration than satisfaction.

Temporary Pleasure is a fantastically apt title, implying as it does a sort of sweet and enthusiastic experience that is ultimately disposable. This is not the worst representative of the genre, but it sadly doesn’t do enough to elevate it above the flimflam.

- Sebastian Clare

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