Not long ago, London-L.A. dance label Crosstown Rebels put out consistently sharp house records with a moody sense of grit. On this overlong overview – two discs of 12-inches, plus a negligible mix CD by Subb-an – the edge is dulled, too often settling for a stale groove overlaid with sighs and heaving bass. Some of it jumps out at you – Subb-an's hard-jacking remix of Tiga's "Pleasure From the Bass," the luxurious congas and playful strings of Eduardo Castillo's remix of Luca Bacchetti's "Tango" – but not enough.

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”