As the '80s generation comes of age, more and more musicians are embracing one of the key strains of music that defined that decade: the cheesy but cool dance floor filler of Italian disco, which made ample use of early synths, sequencers and icy, oft-accented vocals. Sweden's Sally Shapiro is, true to the form's fashion, the shy "face" of writer-producer Johan Agebjorn's charming bedroom dance project. But it's her simple vocals that lend well-crafted little ditties like "I'll Be By Your Side" their warmth. And in the insular world of Italo Disco, it doesn't even matter much that the best song here, "Anorak Christmas," is a cover of an obscure, wimpy indie-pop song. Shapiro and Agebjorn do such a great job with it, you won't even want to hear the original.

-- Joshua Klein