There was much hoopla surrounding Kids of 88 when their debut hit My House came out in 2009.
Rightly so too, because New Zealand hadn't had a pop song like that for years. And they followed it up with accomplished electronic dance pop (with guitars) album, Sugar Pills.
On second album Modern Love, there is nothing quite as addictive - and with guilty pleasure potential - as My House, because the kids have grown up. There is virtually no sexual innuendo, nor are there any "oohs" and "aahs".
For that reason it loses a bit of fun factor, but it makes up for it with star-gazing escapism on tracks like Zion, which saunters, bleeps and stomps along, the deliciously cheesy Feel the Love, and the LCD Soundsystem-meets-Madonna mood of Euphoria.
The latter is a hypnotic, rave-tastic gem with an escalating mix of woozy spectral synth, head-down bum-up beats, and thrumming bass.
One of the most appealing things about Modern Love is its lovely, self-assured pace, with most of the songs still dancey but not bombastic. Like the dreamy ebb of India and Hypno, with it 90s house-cum-M People feel, which might sound awful but it works because Kids of 88 sure do electropop with effortless and catchy ease.
It does have banging and blatant moments on La La, the most throwaway song here, but then there's The Drug, hanging out to be a feelgood hit of summer.
Stars: 4/5
Verdict: Electro dance pop, now for grown-ups
-TimeOut