Since around 2007, the Basque electronic music group Delorean have been billed as "alternative dance", which I personally find to be a pretty silly label. Really, that's just indicative of the ongoing unwillingness of the chart-based music world to accept electronic music for what it is and has always been. It's an international collection of computer-based musicians that have only escaped widespread categorization thanks to a lack of concern for image and a target demographic that skews older than the teen-dominated business of rock and pop. To say that there's such a thing as alternative dance music is to suggest that there's some mainstream dance industry that follows sales trends. Delorean is no more alternative than, say, Royksopp. On their new album Subiza, the group delivers nine very pretty, very danceable tracks that aren't all that revolutionary but don't really aim to be.

If anything, Subiza feels like Delorean picking up where the electronic music scene left off around a decade ago. During the brief but powerful electronic music boom in the late 90's and early 00's, it seemed like all pop music in the near future would sound like the stuff on Subiza. In its purest moments like "Grow", the album is Ekhi Lopetegi singing over a standard trance track. If that's all there was on Subiza it wouldn't be much more than a one-note throwback. The little bits of world music and smart sampling (see track 5 "Simple Graces") give the album some extra depth.

Subiza is often a little too much on the surface, though. There a couple instances of ambition beyond the dance floor, such as the penultimate track "Warmer Places" in which the tribal drums pair well with hypnotic synth to make a big, enveloping sound. Ironically, I think if Delorean had incorporated just a few more rock concepts they could have made a really stunning record. The considerably strong, exciting opening track "Stay Close" suggests a much more varied album in front of it than we actually get. Its restraint and openness is pleasant but a bit misleading.

Even though Subiza is Delorean's third original album, it should perhaps be taken as a new introduction. The band has had some staff shake-ups in the past few years and has been spending the time since their official American debut Transatlantic KK building a reputation with some nice remixes for the likes of Franz Ferdinand and appearing at music festivals like South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. Having veered hard into pure electronic music and vying for an international audience, Delorean has been in the midst of a transformation both artistically and in their business approach. As an indication of talent and ambition, Subiza is a pretty good start. If Delorean can manage to pull something out of their hats that sounds like more than a gentle evolution from early 00's dance music, they could end up being one of the most exciting groups of the decade.