Joey Belville, the mastermind behind The Echoing Green, has been playing his form of self-described "aggressive smile-pop" since his 1992 debut, Defend Your Joy. He's built a considerable fanbase since then. Now, with his self-titled fourth release, Belville is poised for breakthrough. His penchant for creating Euro-pop soundscapes covered with twitching hi-hats and catchy melodies is impressive, but the final product is even more so: The Echoing Green is a virtually guitar-less dance album that rocks harder than a lot of The Echoing Green's modern rock contemporaries. Helped out by Jerome Fontamillas of Fold Zandura and well-respected techno band Deepsky, Belville surrounds himself with thumping beats, various synthesizer squiggles, and enough pop hooks to catch a school of fish. "The Power Cosmic" fires the album off with a dense groove that envelopes Belville's modest, yet appealing vocals. Majestic in its beauty, it sets the stage for an inspiring collection of 12 songs that never cease to remind us of Belville's talent and passion to create fiery dance pop that uplifts and moves feet at the same time. "Empath" rolls along with a pulsing beat and a collection of various beeps and other electronic noises that closely resembles something you would have heard on Joy Electric's first album. The lyrics of such songs as "Hide" (with its decidedly New Wave-ish melody and arrangement) and "Redemption" are unabashedly Christian and worshipful. The drum & bass beat on "Redemption" makes the song a standout, while "Freak Out" is sure to bring to mind such classic breakdancing films as Krush Groove. The album's high point, however, is the impossibly brilliant "Tonight," a gorgeous song propelled by a simple synth riff and a beautiful backing vocal that complements Belville's voice perfectly. Throw a great remix of "The Power Cosmic" and a pounding cover of New Wave icons Men Without Hats' "Safety Dance," and you have an album that will long be remembered after the trend known as "electronica" dies out.