On their sixth album together, Nikolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson plunge into a lush pop disco that's emotional as well as erotic, propulsive without sounding mechanized. Though these singer/writer/producers have been a lot more stylistically adventuresome in the past—Simpson has the technique, if not the soulful intensity, to deliver punchy R&B and gospel music—they've never seemed more comfortable than they do here. Working in stricter song forms with concise tunes, their vocal roles are clearly defined, and Ashford's reedy tenor, tougher than on previous records, expertly complements his partner's passionate flights.

The compressed euphoria of Is It Still Good to Ya was, merely hinted at on last year's commercial breakthrough, Send It, whose songs were more complex but also more diffuse. On the new LP, the best material carries stronger echoes of Ashford and Simpson's Motown classics, with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" the obvious prototype. Two beautifully arranged pop-disco numbers—"It Seems to Hang On" (a sexy hybrid of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Lowdown") and "The Debt Is Settled"—are the production centerpieces. "Flashback" suggests the sleek formula pop of Abba (without the sterility), while "Get Up and Do Something" is a deft exercise in cotton candy funk.

As devoted hedonists comparing notes on a pink cloud over love land, Ashford and Simpson are totally convincing. Though their vision may be somewhat frivolous, they've managed to translate it into music I find almost irresistibly ecstatic. (RS 284)

STEPHEN HOLDEN