Far away from the mong-droid stadium trance of Ferry Corsten, ATB, and Sasha, there struts a woefully underappreciated deep house scene. If you remember when Twilo wasn't ruled by Digweed (or if you recall a time before Gatecrasher), you'll remember the deep delights of roof-raisers such as Aly-us' "Follow Me."

Presence's main man, Charles Webster, remembers such a time and has set himself up as one of very few dance artists resisting the herd-pleasing banalities of trance. All Systems Gone is just the latest in a career jeweled with blissful contributions to dancefloor exuberance. Whatever moniker Webster works under (Furry Phreaks, Sine, Symetrics or Lo:Rise), his skills guarantee thrills of the highest order.

As if to outshine his previous glories, Webster has enlisted the considerable talents of Shara Nelson (fellow Massive Attack alumna), Sara Jay, and Finley Quaye's vocal foil, Steve Edwards for his latest project. Webster fully appreciates the stellar nature of his collaborators and has delicately tweaked 11 songs to showcase not only his talents but also to remind the world just how uplifting soulful vocals can be. But while D'Angelo is out getting corporate music journalists to kiss his faux-soul ring (and nearly displaying his sweaty jock in that absurd video of his), Webster is getting written up in grubby rags such as this. Is that just?

On "Sense of Danger," Shara Nelson gives her most rapturous performance since "Down That Road" from her 1994 debut album, What Silence Knows. Webster matches Nelson's heartfelt delivery with a Todd Edwards-like background, and pushes the song deep within our affections. Though the Salt City Orchestra remix of "Better Day" isn't included on this disc, we're allowed to snuggle up with the joyful original. Steve Edwards' falsetto belies the strength in his call for optimism, and though the song is part of a long and frequently irritating dance music tradition of declaring a promised land to be more than just a dream, "Better Day" belongs aloft with Aly-us' aforementioned rallying-call classic.

The record closes with a downtempo version of "Far, Far Away from My Heart" by alt-country bohos, the BoDeans. Sara Jay takes on the challenge of recasting this lovelorn ballad from pedal steel torch and twang to post-club come-down chill. That I didn't realize it was a country tune until I started researching indicates how comfortably the song fits within the deep house equivalent of Massive Attack's Blue Lines.

All Systems Gone is that rare house album-- an album that isn't just a flashback to the sweat-drenched Saturday night before last, or the soundtrack to your secret longing to be utterly monged in Ibiza. This is a collection of thoughtful songs, perfectly sequenced. All you need do is lie down and appreciate.

-Paul Cooper