Le Galaxie have steadily burrowed their way into the hearts and dancing feet of Ireland over the last several years with massive disco anthems such as Love System, Nightcrawler and Midnight Midnight. They’ve steadily grown from the humble beginnings of free midnight shows upstairs in Whelan’s to headline slots at The Academy and The Olympia, becoming festival mainstays along the way.

It was apparent from those early shows that Le Galaxie had what it takes to make it; the charisma, stage presence, and most importantly the tunes were all a step above the current Irish electronica scene at the time.

Le Galaxie’s new album ‘Le Club’ – their first on major label Universal – continues where their debut ‘Laserdisc Nights 2’ left off, an ‘80s sci-fi battle of synths and beats. Armed only with glow sticks, face paint and the will to dance, Le Galaxie plotted to make their escape and save the universe. However, as with all good sequels the basic elements remain the same, but there is enough of a difference between their début and their second to make the idea of a trilogy appealing.

That said, 2014’s singles Humamise, Lucy Is Here and Carmen are the standout moments, but having three of the best Irish dance releases of recent times on the same album can hardly be a bad thing, can it? Add to that the inclusion of Love System feat Elaine Mai, and ‘Le Club’ starts to look like a greatest hits package in its infancy. Love System will surely be re-released as a single and who could blame Le Galaxie – they’d be foolish not to do so now they have major label muscle to back them internationally.

Live favourites and probable singles Put The Chain On and Streetheart burst with the primal, unifying ‘let’s be having you’ lust for life you’ve come to expect from the merry pranksters of Irish dance – big choruses, big synth solos, all the while administering the cure for being a dry shite. Tracks such as CNNXN, Who, Us?, and Chauffer Of Love, conversely, see Le Galaxie traverse darker territories, with Michael Le Galaxie semi-aping Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) vocals on the formers verses.

‘Le Club‘ proves that there’s still room left to explore in the retro synth-pop revival and cements Le Galaxie’s place at the epicentre of the movement in Ireland. 2015 will see Le Galaxie attempt to take over the mainstream – let’s hope for their sake (and ours) that over-familiarity doesn’t breed contempt.