Soulwax - Any Minute Now (2LP) - Clear Vinyl

Any Minute Now arrived in August 2004, right as indie kids were sneaking into clubs and discovering that guitars and synthesisers could be best mates. The Belgian brothers Stephen and David Dewaele had already scrambled brains with the 2manydjs mixes, but this one lands their band, Soulwax, squarely in the middle of the dancefloor without abandoning the bite of a great rock record. It is a turning point album, the bridge between a feverish mash-up era and the sleek, razor-edged electro rock that would dominate late-night radio and sticky floors for years.

The opener, E Talking, sets the tone with a clipped guitar figure, a bassline that stalks rather than struts, and vocals that sound like a conspiratorial whisper in a dark booth. The track’s video caused a stir at the time for its cheeky A to Z of drugs, which meant limited airtime in daylight slots, but it also nailed the cultural mood. Everyone knew a night that felt exactly like that. On vinyl the kick is all thud and air, the hi-hats scissoring cleanly across the stereo field. Any Minute Now vinyl brings out the tightness in the drums and the hiss around the synths that you might miss on a tinny stream.

The title track is a patient burner. It leans into tension, tick-tocking like a wristwatch before the song blooms into a chorus that feels both relieved and a bit paranoid. Then NY Excuse crashes in with one of the most memorable refrains of the decade. What the hell are you waiting for becomes a mantra, half accusation, half invitation. It is no wonder that one became a fan favourite and a club staple, especially once DJs started threading it through after-hours sets. You can hear why the brothers later rebuilt these songs for Nite Versions in 2005. The bones were already designed for long nights.

What makes Any Minute Now stand out against the glut of mid-2000s indie dance is the precision. Guitar tones are sandpaper-rough but never muddy. Synths jab and wobble with a very human impatience. The vocals are sardonic without being aloof. You catch little studio decisions that reward repeat listens. A handclap tucked behind a snare. A synth that ducks at the exact moment a vocal line needs to land. It is an album about control and release, which mirrors the band’s wider story. Soulwax were crate diggers who could pull You Can’t Always Get What You Want into Peaches into Destiny’s Child on As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2, but here they write their own canon and make it dance.

The record also arrived in a sweet spot for cross-pollination. DFA was peaking, electro house was brewing, and festivals were recalibrating lineups to give late-night dance tents as much love as the guitar stages. Any Minute Now slipped neatly into that world while sounding distinctly European. You can hear the art school rigour of Ghent in the arrangements, the mischievous pop sense too. That balance helped the album win over critics and the indie faithful, and it still feels sharp in 2024.

If you are crate hunting, Soulwax vinyl from this era tends to vanish as soon as it hits the racks. Any Minute Now vinyl is especially satisfying, not only for the punch but for how the sequencing breathes across two sides. It pairs perfectly with Nite Versions for a living room session that starts with wiry post punk colour and ends with euphoric club architecture. Plenty of Melbourne record store clerks will point you that way if you ask for a primer. If you prefer to buy Soulwax records online, keep an eye on reputable shops that ship quickly within vinyl records Australia circles and avoid too-good-to-be-true listings.

Nearly two decades on, the power of these songs is how alive they still feel. E Talking flicks on and you remember exactly why dance floors from London to Brisbane lost it. NY Excuse builds and you get that itch to text a mate and head out. The Dewaele brothers made a lot of brilliant noise before and after this, but Any Minute Now is the moment their curiosity locked into a band groove that could move a room. If you are exploring Soulwax albums on vinyl, start here and let the needle do the evangelising.