It seems that barely a week passes without the release of a Dave Seaman mix, and the latest by the hard working DJ is the third in his Therapy Sessions series. Dave continues to share the limelight with guest DJs and this time Luke Chable and Phil K, who have helped out on previous Therapy Sessions, move aside to enable Lexicon Avenue to display their talents.

It is customary for most reviews to start at the beginning, covering CD 1, then CD 2. For reasons I don’t wish to reveal at the moment, I am starting in the middle, reviewing Dave’s CD first, even though it’s technically the second disc in the compilation. For those of you who have just returned from a lengthy spell on another planet, Dave is probably best known for his highly enjoyable journeys into progressive trance. However, this CD has Dave experimenting with the tech-fused style of progressive that has recently featured on so many other compilations, including John Digweed’s ‘Transitions’.

Dave kicks off proceedings with some gorgeous laid-back sounds, such as Habersham’s ‘Aceide’, which mixes minimalist basslines with tech bleeps that call for attention rather than scream for it. While Dave doesn’t make the start of this mix as challenging to listen to as ‘Transitions’, it differs enough from his usual style to be interesting, while remaining familiar enough to be almost instantly entertaining. I’m unsure if this is because Dave plays a more accessible version of progressive music, or if my familiarity with the current style means it is easier to listen to. The single disc mix format is one that I really like because the shortened timeframe means you aren’t subjected to really long periods where the music “stalls”. There is certainly no danger of this mix stalling, as Dave employs all his programming skills in selecting tracks, such as ‘Teething’ by Stelios Vassiloudis, that increase the tempo in the music in a way that is so clever it sneaks up on you and catches you off guard.

If the beginning of this mix is all about minimalist basslines and tech synths, then the middle section is all about rolling basslines and layered melody. In other words, the perfect progressive recipe! Time and again I’ve found myself on the train, listening to this mix, getting lost in the layers of the sound as they wash over me and transport me to a place that is entirely different from where the train is taking me. I feel an almost-overwhelming temptation to remain on the train, listening to Seaman’s mix, and call into work sick. Watch out for the devastatingly dirty basslines that rip into the mix at the thirty-eight minute mark (my copy is one continual mix with no track demarcation, so I cannot confirm the name of the track!) The first time I heard it I almost kissed a complete stranger on the train next to me I was so happy! (Wife not happy reading this, however.)

The mix definitely seems to be split into three segments of about twenty minutes each. There’s the difficult yet rewarding opening sequence, the highly enjoyable middle sequence and the sadly confused last segment. It seems to me that the last segment is having an identity crisis. After the brilliant middle section I was really expecting Dave to bring it home, but the mix just peters out and rolls along at a pace that seems subdued and misguided. It is as if Dave played his final track about twenty minutes from the end, suddenly realised he had time remaining, and so he picks up the tempo again right near conclusion. Having read back over this last paragraph, I’ve made it sound much worse than it actually is. It’s only a small criticism and after all, it’s only my opinion. You might love it.

In the past, some of Dave’s critics have accused him of creating a sound that is very much focussed on the here and now. The logic is that you enjoy his music on the first listen, but it’s not challenging enough and after a few repeats you put the CD away and rarely return to it. It’s not a view that I subscribe to as I always enjoy Dave’s work, and I encourage detractors to have a listen to this latest mix with an open mind. They are likely to be pleasantly surprised.

Now, for the 1st CD… Lexicon Avenue are a trio of lads from the North of England, best known to fans at this end of the globe for their production work. You may be surprised to learn, however, that members of the trio have been DJs for some time and have been heavily involved with the Shindig club in the UK. Their DJ work has not been the exclusive preserve of the UK either, with tours right across Europe, the US and even Japan; and thanks to the Sweetchilli boys, from 1 December Australia will be added to that list.

It’s taken me a while to write a review of this CD because, honestly, I’ve struggled to come to grips with it. On first listen… no scrap that, on my first fifteen listens, I really didn’t like it. My impression was that this mix was a journey. The sort of journey where you are late for something really important and one third of the way there you run into the mother of all traffic jams. In short, the sort of journey you seek to avoid at all costs. Having said that, the opening three-track sequence is one of the best I have heard in a long, long time. ‘Glow’, ‘Me’ and ‘So Get Up’ blend together to make a perfect fusion of dirty house music that makes you want to launch yourself at the dance floor with utter abandon. Even now (on my twentieth listen) I am going gooey inside just hearing those sounds. Think Steve Lawler’s ‘Lights Out Three’ and you’ll get the picture. Brilliant stuff.

Then things start to unravel. First we encounter Nick and Danny Chatelain’s ‘Is Killing Me’, and never has a track been more aptly named. It brings the tempo of the music to a shuddering halt and introduces a monotonous musical ménage-a-trios – combining a hideous beat with a boring voice and the worst screeching technically-nightmarish build up that I have ever had the misfortune to hear. The build-ups are terrifying in both length and composition and when they finally wash out you end up back with the hideous beat. Thankfully this death by music fades and is replaced by the brilliant ‘Superflyin’ by Cubic, and if you’re going to make up for an error in judgement, then this is definitely the way to do it.

The next part of the mix had me perplexed for a long time. To come clean, I had one version of this review completely written – and it was rather scathing, to say the least. Then I had one last listen and I finally “got it”. Initially the tracks had seemed like watching ducks floating on a pond – rather nice but ultimately rather boring. But, as with ducks, the calm above the water belies the energy being expended beneath the surface; it was only with time (and repeated listening to the CD) that I came to understand what Lexicon Avenue were trying to achieve. Admittedly these tracks are probably a little less energetic than I would have chosen myself, but they complement the tracks that follow really well and provide some interesting moments in the build up to the tail end of the mix.

If you were thinking of buying a compilation then there is much here to like and I would definitely recommend you to grab a copy and give it to yourself as an early Christmas present. Alternatively, if experiencing the music in a club is more your thing, you are in luck as Lexicon Avenue are touring Australia over the coming weeks. Do yourself a big favour and check them out, but make sure you wear comfortable shoes, as there is a strong possibility that you will be spending a lot of time on the dance floor.