Pitchfork

Sometime back in excruciating heat of mid-summer Chicago, a wintry little Italo disco throwback by Sweden's Sally Shapiro smuggled its way into Pitchfork HQ like the freshest dancefloor breeze this side of 1984. That wondrous tune, "I'll Be by Your Side", eventually found its way onto our Infinite Mixtape. When the B-side, "Time to Let Go", proved similarly wondrous, the Pitchfork Giddy Threat Level was raised to orange.

Now we have full-blown, code red giddy situation on our hands, as Sally Shapiro's long-awaited debut, Disco Romance, graces clubs the world over this December. Diskokaine will deliver this perfect present for a winter holiday of your choosing, featuring nine tunes sung by Sally and constructed by beat maestro Johan Agebjörn, including a cover of twee electro-poppers Nixon's "Anorak Christmas".

But Sally's no disco diva-- quite the opposite, in fact. In a recent e-mail to Pitchfork, Agebjörn revealed just how bashful his vocalist can be: "Sally is so shy that I still haven't heard her sing any of these songs for me live! I mowed the lawn while we recorded the vocals. She refuses to be photographed by someone she doesn't know. She refuses to make a music video or to perform live.

"Still, she's a disco princess."

Enter Princess Sally's court by checking out the mp3 of "Anorak Christmas" below, which starts off sounding just a little bit like Limahl's NeverEnding Story theme song. Which is to say: awesomely. A club mix of the tune will appear on 12" around the time of the album's release, along with three remixes of "I'll Be by Your Side". The Diskokaine-stamped vinyl is conveniently divided into "Italo disco" and "electro" halves for all your DJing needs.

Disco Romance:

01 I'll Be by Your Side
02 I Know
03 Find My Soul
04 Time to Let Go
05 Anorak Christmas
06 Hold Me So Tight
07 Find My Soul (Norwegian Electrojazz Mix)
08 Sleep in My Arms
09 I'll Be by Your Side (Rude 66 808 Remix)

"Anorak Christmas/I'll Be by Your Side Remixes":

01 Anorak Christmas (Club Mix)
02 I'll Be by Your Side (Extended Club Mix)
03 I'll Be by Your Side (Rude 66 808 Remix)
04 I'll Be by Your Side (Rude 66 Hard Remix)