New rave demands that one uncross those arms, get out of that dark corner and emerge into the night with a smile. Draping yourself in neon is only suggested—not required—but new rave does ask that you bring your sense of humor. It quickly traversed continents because it offers an upbeat alternative to the gloomy tendencies of electroclash. When dancing, don’t expect pure trance or techno memorabilia; the new-rave (or nü rave) sound is more a fusion of punk, disco and electronica than its forbearers. It’s as if Gang of Four and the Vaselines accidentally strolled into a throbbing early ’90s warehouse dance party and treats us to a lively set from their teenage love child.

Trendy record labels like Ed Banger and Dim Mak have latched on to the new rave sound; the latter even launched a line of brightly printed hoodies. But then again, fashion and music have always been willing bedfellows. “New rave is the new counterculture,” says Mark Hunter, a.k.a. nightlife photographer thecobrasnake.com. “I think it’s sorta an entire lifestyle. Bands from the U.K. like Shit Disco have this whole lifestyle from glowsticks, colorful clothing, to fun, really upbeat music.”

Chicago’s anything but behind the curve on the trend, according to area DJs. “I have definitely noticed a resurgence of more rave-flavored tracks,” says J2K of the Chicago DJ duo Flosstradamus. “The look and the sound is totally reflective of what it used to be: the fluorescent colors and all the crazy, flashy stuff. Everything is coming back,” adds Autobot, the other half of Flosstradamus.

Another notable difference between old school and new rave is the absence of Ecstasy (although some might merely wonder if cocaine is standing in). “I remember rave; a lot of my friends are scarred from that period,” says Fredrik Saroea of Datarock, the Norwegian dance band. “It was fucked up, man. We did the New Rave U.K. tour and you got the feeling that the drugs weren’t back, just the icons and the whole thing about wanting to come together to have fun.”

One could easily mistake the rave resurgence for simple nostalgia, except that most of the kids jumping up and down in their Jeremy Scott outfits weren’t around for the early raves held in desolate spaces out in the ’sticks. Rather, what began as an ironic interpretation of ’90s dance culture has morphed into a movement—an antidote to bad news and global chaos—that celebrates things lighthearted. “The state of the world today and how kind of crazy things are, kids are partying a lot harder than they used to,” J2K says.

Dancing may not impeach Bush but it provides a much-needed escape. As Saroea notes, “The world is a depressing place so you find a place to just dance a little bit and have fun. That’s what you need right now—when it’s basically a world war—is to laugh a little.”

Click here for new rave–friendly July events.