(Tinted Records)

Nathan G is Nathan George, and this 4-track single showcases Better Way, a groovy house number he wrote with Patricia Patterson. The first mix is by the eponymous Groovehunter, a 4-minute slice of classic house rather optimistically entitled the Groovehunter Radio Edit – not sure when I last heard dance music on the radio in Sydney, but it is depressingly hard to find. Pity, as this track would go down well – chunky house beats with soul-diva Chance doing her bit on the vocals, supported by Alisha Brooks on sax – good fun.

Joe T Vannelli is up next with his House of Soul Piano Mix – much the same vocals and length, but with a strong piano lead. It’s less to my taste – I’m not a fan of vocal house or of piano in dance tracks – but it does have loads of soul and suits Chance’s lyrics well. One for the soul brothas amongst us.

At 8 minutes, the Groovehunter Remix gives the track more time to develop, and has more depth. It suits the track better – while it is still straight vocal house, it gets crunchier, deeper and feels a bit more progressive – definitely more interesting. A couple of big breakdowns and a great mix of acoustic and electronic instrumentation make this my pick of the mixes. Vannelli’s Attack Mix is the big-room dance-floor mix, but a little obvious with its pounding percussion, overblown vocals and guitar, and enormous breakdowns. It didn’t really do it for me, and at 14 minutes long, self-indulgent is the term that springs to mind.

Chance, the vocalist, has a rich, strong soul diva’s voice – she hits all the high notes, has a satisfyingly low growl and can even handle a little bit of scat singing – but for me this house track is inoffensive rather than inspiring.