Don't Stop (Bonus Track Version)

Annie’s sophomore album Don’t Stop (2009) is smart, salacious and confident. The Norwegian dance diva benefits from production input by such studio wizards as Xenomania, Timo Kaukolampi, Paul Epworth and Richard X. Annie’s breathy vocals bring an intimacy to these mostly fast ‘n’ furious tracks, lending her the air of a spunky street gamine rather than an icebound sex goddess. Riding atop brazen, hard-throbbing beats, she dishes out put-downs (“I Don’t Like Your Band,” “My Love Is Better”) and surrenders to desire (“Loco,” “Don’t Stop”) with equal exuberance. Especially potent are the Giorgio Moroder-styled “Songs Remind Me of You” and the marching band-driven “Hey Annie.” To her credit, Annie doesn’t merely satisfy the groove cravings of her fans — “Marie Cherie,” for instance, delves into aural film noir with its creepy lyrics and darkly shimmering backdrop. There’s some shameless kitsch here too (“Heaven and Hell” and “The Breakfast Song”). And Don’t Stop does it all with more imagination that just about any dance-floor project in recent memory.