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Release Date: December 3, 2007 Label: Phantom Sound & Vision Related Sites: · Official Site Grade: B-

When it comes to dance music, criticism is bullet-proof. Case in point: Perfect Day, the newest album by German Eurodance act Cascada. Does it have a beat and can you dance to it? Sure. Anything distinctive about it that will ensure its longevity? Not really.

Cascada is anchored by German-born (though with a British upbringing) beauty Natalie Horler, along with DJ Manian, and trance musician Yanou, best known for collaborating on the dancified cover of Bryan Adams' "Heaven" by DJ Sammy featuring vocalist Do. That hit cracked the top ten of the Billboard 100, and the upper tier of the chart remained virtually dance-free until Cascada arrived with their breakthrough hit "Everytime We Touch" (which peaked at #1 on the U.S. Dance chart). Popularity of the single skyrocketed, and Cascada quickly assembled an album of the same name, followed by The Official Cascada Remix Album, both in 2006.

Natalie Horler is the lead singer and eye candy of Cascada.

On the other hand, "Because The Night" might have Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen (co-writers on this 1978 hit by the Patti Smith Group) spinning in their graves, even before they're dead. Okay, it's not quite that bad because, again, it has a beat and you can dance to it. An intriguing selection, but there's just something not quite right with it, and it didn't work for me. That could also be said of their take on Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi," with a vanilla delivery that never convinced me of their punk pedigree. Which makes the club-worthy irresistibility of Pink's "Just Like A Pill" all the more surprising.

The remaining originals embrace such topics as girl power ("Who Do You Think You Are?"), getting on with life after a set back ("Perfect Day") and finding the perfect guy ("He’s All That"). Two of the compositions -- "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It" -- were previously recorded by Horler and DJ Manian on a side project under the name Siria. There's certainly not much diversity musically from their first album. Thus, the lone ballad "Could It Be You?" echoes "Another You," "Runaway" is reminiscent of "Bad Boy," and debut single "Miracle" sounds much like "What Do You Want From Me?" Still, the latter is a highlight track of the album, with an infectious beat and nice harmony going on.

To me, much of the music sounded the same, with only a couple of the songs starting out subdued before launching into hypnotic thumping beats. Perhaps that's the nature of the genre, but you definitely have to be in the mood to get your groove on to plow through this album for any length of time. Too many parlor tricks that I personally don't like are repeated often, especially the echo-y vocals and synth riffs that sound like your cassette tape is warping in the heat. It initiates my reflex to rip the disc out of the player as if it's eating my tape.

While Cascada will never be accused of dancefloor innovation, Perfect Day attains its purpose of setting your body in motion, so as far as clubbers are concerned, it's "mission accomplished."