Hercules and Love Affair

Despite all the chatter about Antony and Tim Goldsworthy — and make no mistake, they're both crucial to the success of this album — Hercules and Love Affair is very much the brainchild of Andrew Butler. The New York-by-way-of-Denver DJ shares his DFA cohorts' ability to channel the entire history of dance music (particularly disco and early house and techno, in this case) without sounding merely revivalist, and he uses it to tap into the equally rich history of the queer culture that has so often colored it. Antony, then, is not just a casting coup; he and fellow vocalists Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman are the perfect vehicles for Butler's elegantly camp vision. The back half sags a bit, but when it works, it's positively delicious.