Killing Puritans

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Some deejays get a perverse thrill out of shifting styles suddenly, clearing the floor and sending startled dancers back to their seats. This expertly crafted new CD revels in that thrill. The song Little Black Spiders comes on hard, like the Prodigy in a back-room brawl with Metallica; another track, the smooth Full Moon, offers up a less confrontational sound, melding glitter-ball disco with old-school hip-hop. On Koochy, Van Helden samples Gary Numan's 1979 synthesized pop hit Cars, pumping it up with contemporary club-land rhythms. These songs startle, annoy, bewilder--and ultimately entrance. Van Helden's real rush, it seems, comes when he lures dancers back onto the floor.

--By Christopher John Farley