Funny, I'm not at a rave, and I'm certainly not on e, yet I'm grinding my teeth. Maybe it's the music.

Sony Pictures' attempt to cash in on the burgeoning rave culture with the plotless feature, Groove, succeeds, in a way. The film's soundtrack sits nicely alongside the other dozens of "continuous mix" compilations that see release every year. Of course, this probably says more about electronic music that it does about Sony's shot at street cred.

The film's music supervisor, DJ Wish FM, assembled each of the album's 14 tracks into a seamless mix. This proves to be no large feat, as the entire first half of the disc shares almost the exact same BPM. And truthfully, for the record's entire first half, it would take a watchful eye on the disc player display to determine where one track ends and the next begins. Sure, some slight variations appear, but none are substantial enough to stir interest, and the others are too predictable to be subtle. Every five or six minutes, a new bassline, synth sweep, or percussion flourish arises, with little consideration to composition or cohesion. Yes, it's dance music.

Fortunately, the second half the album is a little more interesting. Orbital drops an ethereal female vocal over "Halcyon + On + On" to better effect than the over-the-top vamping of the album's earlier vocal samples. Big-beat mainstay Bedrock's "Heaven Scent" is poised as the high point of the film and the big single off the soundtrack, but it stands out from the other tracks less than it brings the homogenous elements to pounding new heights with a splashy synth melody and monolithic bass pumping. The track also paves the way for Groove's true standout. As "Heaven Scent" segues into Hybrid's "Beach Coma," the beat dissolves almost entirely, replaced by a fizzing ambience of jazz sax and distant hi-hat sizzle. Slowly, the tension rebuilds into a straightforward house beat flanked by whirring basslines and minimalist piano flourishes.

The album ends on another high note with Scott Hardkiss' mix of Alter)Ring's "Infinitely Gentle Blows." Sweeping in with oddly manipulated vocal textures, the track sports a crisp beat whose bass boom actually makes room for a tight snare on the upbeat. As with the Hybrid track, "Infinitely Gentle Blows" really shines when the beat drops out and leaves the textures sputtering into each other, one gorgeous layer on top of the other in a dizzying free fall.

Like any mix worth its salt, Groove has enough exceptional moments to occasionally overcome the underwhelming sameness, but is ultimately much more suited to the dancefloor than the home stereo.

-Al Shipley