As for fulfilling the promise of leading American children down a dark, distorted path of quasireligious dance fervor, France’s Justice did just about everything right—though its † album ended up more moody than slamming. Its magnificent single “D.A.N.C.E.” led the charge for melodic, hard-rockin’ dance acts like Boys Noize, whose Oi Oi Oi is as unrelenting as his throbbing DJ sets.

Building a blog cabin
MP3 blogs—and sometimes private, secret, DJ-only sites—made it possible for those working with digital material in the booth to freely trade and play out remixes, original tracks, as well as obscurities and edits—without a label, a pressing, a Beatport or even a CD-R involved. Tracks with the scarcity of a white-label single now play alongside Top 40 hits like “Umbrella” or a juke mix of a Kid Sister track. DJs have a greater palette of music to access than ever.

Remaking disco magic
On the flip side, an underground renewed interest in dance music’s pre-house days continues. Everything from boogie to late krautrock has become fair game in the hippest DJ sets, and forgotten disco detritus such as “Lovetown” are staples for Dimitri from Paris and young guns alike, both of whom are reediting golden oldies to suit today’s dancing needs. The disco reignition is starting to bubble up in Chicago with new nights like Disco Unusual Social Club at Danny’s and Butterbuns with the Mr. Peabody DJs at Sonotheque. The concepts might be overhead but the rhythms are undeniable, and the disco audience will grow in time.

Indie-dance revolt
It was a good year for indie-dance music, whether it was nu-disco of Runaway or nu-rave Erol Alkan remixes. Albums by Sorcerer, the Field, Digitalism, Gui Boratto, Studio and the Field captured a new range of aesthetics available to electronic producers beyond the thwacka four-on-the-floor beat and magnetic poles of house, electro and techno.

Nights of note
As for the most memorable nights of Chicago clubbing, Daft Punk’s Lolla after-party with the Rapture merits a mention as does Stones Throw Move at Sonotheque in May with Madlib on the decks. Bar none, the best unexpected vibe in recent months was found at Metro Area’s hush-hush Lava visit. Routinely, reliable club nights like OUTdanced!, downstairs at Debonair as well as the stellar bookings at Smart Bar, Spy Bar and Vision kept us out all night.

Take me to the River North
Chicago got a slew of new clubs at the end of 2006. Newcomers Lumen, Underground and Ohm have established themselves as significant niche players on the scene where music is more than an afterthought. Many 2007 openings, like Rockwell Lounge, NV Penthouse and Climax Lounge are fighting for the high-end, glamour-crowd dollar in hypercompetitive River North. The cutthroat business climate means clubs are finding more nonmusical ways to attract moneyed partyers. Paid celebrity appearances and other mass mind-control voodoo isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.

E-mail us your choice club track of 2007 at clubs@timeoutchicago.com