Introducing a new player into the increasingly saturated club/house genre was never going to come without easy comparisons. The shelves of JB-Hi Fi are stacked with brightly coloured compilations, headed up by the monolith that is Ministry of Sound, and padded out with the likes of Onelove and the merchandise that accompanies Australia’s year-round festival season. Neon Essential, a newcomer to the scene, aims to capitalise on the label’s club chart success by branching out into compilation land. Employing the double ARIA winning TV Rock, and “top ranking” DJ Chardy, the CD spans 35 tunes, and according to the press release, three genres including electro, progressive and fidget.

TV Rock are a safe bet for achieving the aims of taking club success to the high street. Thanks to the mega hit Flaunt It, the duo are about as popular with stay at home mums and pre-teen So You Think You Can Dance fans as they are with the dedicated weekend warriors. The duo of Grant Smillie and Ivan Gough start confidently, enthusiastically beseeching listeners to “come on!”. From here, the party begins in what is the perfect soundtrack for downing a jug of homemade margaritas, firing up the GHDs and lathering on the spackle ahead of a night out on the town.

Early stand out tracks include the very rock n’ roll Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff from Deadmau5, and the big room piano house of Todd Watson & Jason Singh who rather optimistically disclose an intention to “change the world as you know it”. EDX’s remix of Funkagenda’s Breakwater provides some space for more mature reflection, an elegant groover which deftly demonstrates TV Rock’s surprising (to me, anyway) ability to construct a well designed set. Set It Off provides the obligatory old school house, before the very infectious, hands in the air simplicity of Dancin’ gets bodies moving.

The second half of the disc seems intended to demonstrate the production skills of TV Rock, with no less than five remixes, re-edits and at least one ‘re-shape’. Interestingly, these are not among the best tracks on the CD, but should make punters happy who picked up the CD based on the TV Rock brand. Continuing the rock theme are two tracks, sandwiched together, sampling the Foo Fighters and Marilyn Manson. Times Like These channels a very summery, if repetitive, crowd-pleasing vibe while Sebastian Leger’s The People amounts to a very goth, and very weird re-imagining of The Beautiful People.

I don’t know much about DJ Chardy, responsible for the work on the second disc, but what I do know is that he may love the auto-tune vocal effect even more than Kanye West, which is a staggering thought. The majority of the tracks on this 11-tune effort seem tinged in same way by the warbling filter, giving a distinctly unhuman feel to the set. To be fair, the disc does start well with Get Up, by the wonderfully named Bingo Players; a stark, jaunty little tune seemingly embodying the fidget house vibe touted by the label’s promoters.

From here though, the mood turns to the growly, distorted, dirty end of the electrosphere. If the first disc displayed some of the friendlier aspects of mainstream club house, the second delves into the tougher, meaner end; it’s less the midnight set, and more 3.30am selection when all the nice girls have gone home and the crowd’s desires turn to less wholesome pursuits. For me, the only standout was the Laidback Luke remix of Roger Sanchez’s Bang that Box; however, others will enjoy slipping this on at kickons across the country, where they can shut the curtains and space out in the comfort of their own homes.

In all, Neon Essentials was never going to break any new ground, but this first effort will tick enough boxes amongst clubbers and dance-lovers to find a home on thousands of iPods across the country.