Miami Horror is a funky little electro project from Australia. I remember seeing them at the beginning of the year playing at Big Day Out, and to be honest, even though I’d never heard any of their music to begin with, I was totally swept up with the sound they had which I can only really describe as god-damn danceable. Seriously, this bunch knows how to get your feet moving. They had a summer hit with their single “Sometimes” and it finds itself here on the record surrounded by some other like-minded music.
Their music is incredibly fun, mixing in the ever appealing sensibilities of dance music and adding their own style of electro to create something that will be welcome on any dance floor or at any party.
It’s certainly not a bold statement in music, there’s nothing here that is going to completely blow your mind, and you might have heard this kind of stuff before. There are some clear influences from ABBA and even a bit of the Bee Gees shows through in the vocals. It’s a fairly varied record, but I wouldn’t say its varied enough. Sure, there are particular sounds and structures that set the songs apart, but in the end it does end up with that same 4/4 beat that is really nothing new to the genre, but it’s nice to see they’ve at least worked to provide a different sensation with each song.

Unfortunately, it’s been a while since I’ve heard dance that didn’t try to take itself too seriously, and with this kind of emergence of hardcore house and techno music within the past few years, this genre has been swamped with people who can’t keep their fingers off the bass dial, and we’ve had songs like “Waters of Nazareth” from Justice trying to sound like the most sinister dance music possible. Of course that’s nothing against Justice, I did enjoy Cross.

Fortunately, Miami Horror really has a solid, but light mix of instruments and they use it to keep some consistent dance beats. And if I may say so myself, there is some really well written bass guitar on this record. I really feel as though it stands out from the other instruments, and really adds that fire to most of the tracks that makes you want to dance to them. And when I say bass, I mean a light, danceable, warm, slightly synth bass that fits in perfectly with the rest of their overall sound. There are also plenty of lightly distorted guitar chords scattered throughout most tracks.

When it comes down to it, Illumination is certainly nothing that’s going to be a cult hit, or anything that’s really going to go down in history, but it certainly serves a purpose of bringing in some essential dance songs that are perfect for the summertime. If you get the chance, stop playing “We No Speak Americano” at your parties and throw on some of Miami Horror’s Illumination instead, you and your guests should be pleasantly surprised.