The Scottish city of Glasgow hides its lights under many rather scuzzy bushels. Like the schizoid Scottish capital, Edinburgh, which is by turns a tourist mecca and a "Trainspotting" skag- head sewer, Glasgow is home to abandoned shipyards, the infamous Gorbbels housing project, deep fried pizza, the highest incidence of heart disease in Europe, the superb Burrell Collection... oh, and exceptionally clubby house music (i.e. the tunes whose titles you read in DJs' top ten lists).

Chaser is the collaboration between Glaswegian DJ Lars Sandberg (aka Funk D'Void ) and London producer Nigel Hayes. The duo met when Hayes thundered up to Sandberg as he was DJing and demanded that Sandberg move over and let him spin some choons. Sandberg was blown away by Hayes' chutzpah and a friendship was born. In late 1995, Chaser released the "Sides of Iron" 12" and turned many cheesy handbag DJs onto the funk- jazz Glasgow house sound. Amongst those who have been won over to the Chaser sound are England's Giles Peterson, Austria's doyens of the dope beat, Kruder and Dorfmeister, and that French underwhelmer, Laurent Garnier.

Annoyingly, Game On! waits a while to show its strengths. "Sleazy Listening" is an odd way to kick off such a critically anticipated album. The track is nothing more than a sloppy alto sax- driven '80s groove that even Stephanie Mills wouldn't have snuck away on a b-side. Things improve slightly with the Rhodes piano chords and subdued acoustic bass of "Friend Like You" which paces about in a chill-out room hosted by Masters at Work. The album's first single, the '70s bongo- funk of "Blue Planet" cries out to be put on a Talkin' Loud compilation and to be appreciated by caipirinha- sipping fans of Incognito. So far, nothing on Game On! comes close to the sumptuous jazzy funk of Germany's Extended Spirit or lives up to the attention that Sandberg and Hayes garner. But, wait...

On "Everything Must Change," the vocal sample sings-– strike me down-– "Everything Must Change" and, well, something has. The four- to- the- floor kickdrum jacks in and Chaser finally begin to get their groove on. Yet for all the pumped- up beats, Sandberg and Hayes retain the services of atmospherically banal synthpads which swoosh over a bassline that belongs in a far more clubby track.

The second half of Game On! more than compensates for the deficiencies of the first. "F-train," the masterful nu-jazz techno of "Life In Loisaida" (that's "Lower East Side" for us non- Manhattan schlubs) and "Assassin" all blaze away gloriously. The euphoria that only great dance music can induce is now in such abundance that it's soaking everything in its path. But don't pop your cork just yet, because Sandberg and Hayes still have to ignite their most spectacular fireworks.

The album closes in delirious abandon with the track that made Chaser's reputation: "Sides of Iron" jams a Wes Montgomery guitar line, a fluty groove with a clipped rhythm track that Mr. Syncopation himself, Todd Edwards, would be jealous of. "Sides of Iron" is simply one of those rare tracks that you instantly recognize as top quality club gear. So like Chaser's adopted city, it's a shame you have to dig so deep to find the diamonds in the sludge.

-Paul Cooper