It’s easy to shoot for a disco sound, only to end up creating something that your older sister might have danced to in 1994. Whatever particular style they were going for, on Kisses’ debut album, The Heart of the Nightlife, they manage to fuse together aspects of disco, new wave and 90s dance music, creating a work that is often generic and goofy, but also happily dreamy more often than not.

Fairly new to the music scene in LA, Kisses is made up of Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson, who are purportedly romantically involved. Why, you might ask, is this important? Well, take a look at the titles on the unapologetically optimistic track list and maybe you’ll understand where the inspiration for their bubbly, joyous, puppy-love sound comes from. That is not to say, however, that this is a negative aspect of the album. Amongst the waves of music coming in from the electronic scene right now, it’s surprising and maybe even a little inspiring to listen to music that seems to have sprouted from the initial and most passionate stages of love.

The group’s first single, “Bermuda,” is pleasantly empty headed, and Kivel’s voice runs smoothly over the light beats in such a way that you can instantly imagine yourself under a pink umbrella somewhere dreaming up the infinite possibilities of a romantic summer vacation.

On “People Can Do the Most Amazing Things,” the tone is taken down a bit and even comes dangerously close to melancholic, giving us a hint that there might be more to Kisses’ music in the future than beats and lyrics that suggest sunshine and day dreams. The following “Women of the Club” stands out for its effective and unexpected inclusion of steel drums, which is certainly not unheard of in electro-pop but adds a certain carefree flair, and that fits the song just perfectly.

“Weekend in Brooklyn” is an extremely catchy track, and probably the best on the album; it has just the right balance of dreaminess and straightforwardness, with repeated lines like “I’m talking about you/I’m thinking about you” over a beat that’s pleasant and yet not overwhelmingly sticky-sweet like some of their other tracks. Of all of the songs, it shows the most potential for where Kisses might take us in their future endeavors should they decide to refine their style a little bit more and progress, like everything can and should, beyond that first delicious stage of indulgence that occurs when you realize that you’ve got something good ahead of you.

“Midnight Lover” finds the duo at their most straightforwardly disco. In short, it’s something that would sound right at home among a two disc best-of disco collection, if not for the fact that they have enough of a sense of humor to poke some light fun at the genre by including silly lines like “I want to take you for a nice steak dinner.” A lot of electronic bands today have the tendency to become self-indulgent to the point that it’s hard to tell whether certain aspects are meant to be taken seriously or humorously; it’s refreshing to see that the playfulness Kisses instills in their music is admirably genuine.

If Kisses set out to make The Heart of the Nightlife an essential soundtrack to summer love, they have achieved their goal. Should they continue in the course of their career to stick to this particularly light, disco-aspiring style, it will be interesting to see if they can produce something that sounds a little fresher the next time around. For now, though, go ahead and indulge in the candidly carefree sounds of two talented LA musicians in love, and save the worrying about where they’ll go next for winter time.

Track List:
1. Kisses
2. Bermuda
3. People Can Do the Most Amazing Things
4. Women of the Club
5. The Heart of the Nightlife
6. Lovers
7. Weekend in Brooklyn
8. Midnight Lover
9. On the Movie