Timo Maas

If you're skeptical about whether a superstar DJ such as Hanover, Germany's Timo Maas can produce solid dance music on his own, you may well be right -- "Timo Maas" is actually more of a brand name than the true work of an individual. His main studio partner, Martin Buttrich, brings essential technical life to Maas's various remix and production ideas.

After last year's suprisingly acclaimed Loud, the duo returns with another collection of factory-stamped remixes. Maas tends to favor preserving the song's original structure while injecting good dance floor elements like heavy beats, bass, and snarling guitars. He doesn't completely rearrange Shirley Manson's vocals on Garbage's "Breaking Up the Girl" or Moby's "We Are All Made of Stars," yet the remixed versions still possess a momentum that those records once lacked. As energetic as this album is, though, it's not a totally fulfilling substitute for catching Maas at his singular, spontaneous best behind the decks.