The new-wave revival dance party continues with new releases by established acts from the genre as well as promising newcomers. At this rate the action shows no sign of slowing down or stopping any time soon.

I’m loath to admit it, but my initial response to Waiting For The Sirens’ Call (Warner Brothers), New Order’s first new studio album in four years, was kind of a quick dismissal. As someone who has been listening to the band since its inception, I liked the way they combined new-wave rock and new-wave dance elements into nearly seamless albums. But given a choice, I preferred New Order’s way with a dance track.

Album openers, the questioning “Who’s Joe?” and “Hey Now What You Doing” were more along the lines of the modern rock tracks that highly influential New Order has been producing for nearly 25 years as it emerged from the ashes of Joy Division. By the time they got closer to a dance number on the album’s title track, my attention had drifted. I simply put the disc aside.

Recently picking it up again, I found the rewards to be buried a little deeper within the album and have now been listening to the disc on a more regular basis. The rewards I mentioned include the crafty and buoyant first single “Krafty,” which fits perfectly into NO’s oeuvre with its catchy chorus and mind-changing beat. “I Told You So” finds the band dabbling in a bit of electro-reggae with unexpected results. “Morning Night and Day,” which has a Pet Shop Boys energy, and “Dracula’s Castle” maintain the easy dance liveliness. But the “sirens’ call” that I was waiting for came in the form of “Guilt Is A Useless Emotion,” a dazzling dance cut featuring female backing vocals and an irresistible beat. The band must have been especially conscious of this fact since the U.S. version of the disc features an exceptional remix of the tune by Mac Quayle.

As with New Order, new-wave newcomers Bloc Party meld dance and rock on their debut album Silent Alarm (Vice/Dim Mak). Opening tracks “Like Eating Glass” and “Helicopter” might owe more to The Jam and The Clash and other British bands of a certain era than to, say, The Human League. But don’t forget that The Jam and The Clash also knew their way around a dance beat, and albums by former members in post-Jam and post-Clash bands, such as Big Audio Dynamite and The Style Council, narrowed their focus on dance music. That said, Bloc Party feeds our need for an unabashed dance party with the fierce dance-floor workout “Banquet,” and fuels the fire on rhythmic numbers such as “She’s Hearing Voices,” “Price Of Gas” and the U.S. bonus track “Little Thoughts.”

You may not know the new-wave revival dance band Elkland by name yet, but with the opening slot on Erasure’s North America tour, you have the opportunity to become better acquainted with them. Like The Rapture and The Bravery and other New York-area based electro and organic dance units, Elkland’s music belies a reverence for those who came before. Without being an all-out homage to New Order or others of that ilk, Elkland manages to be respectful of their forebears, while trying to make their own mark. One of the most notable things about Elkland’s radiant major-label debut Golden (Columbia) is the presence of producer Dave Trumfio. Trumfio, who has become an in-demand producer in his own right, and his brother Harry were way ahead of the curve, recording as electro trendsetters the Pulsars in the mid-1990s. Trumfio’s techno fingerprints are all over this disc, and that’s a good thing. Additionally, there is a youthful exuberance to the dozen songs on this album, beginning with the irresistible “Put Your Hand Over Mine,” a song that wouldn’t sound out of place at any number of new-wave retro club nights around the country. Jon Pierce’s vocals are pure ’80s new wave, distant, but emotion-laced, as you can hear on the propulsive “Apart.” “It’s Not Your Fault” sounds like the kind of dance song that could have been accidentally left off of the latest New Order album (which could have used a few more dance-oriented tracks) and “I Need You Tonight” drives its point across like the best Cars songs did. “Find Me” and “Without You” also recreate the ’80s with ease, an era that seems oddly appealing, considering the current state of things in Bush’s world.

Another influential producer, Stephen Street (who produced The Smiths and Blur, among other) was at the helm of U.K. band Kaiser Chiefs’ enticing major-label debut Employment (B-Unique/Universal). Owing more to predecessors such as The Jam and The Clash, and even Blur for that matter, Kaiser Chiefs’ brand of new wave has a slightly rawer edge to it. There are still plenty of synthesizers and dance-beats to rev up the new-wavers lingering on the edge of the dance floor waiting for the chance to pounce, but their sound should also appeal to the rockers in the house. Percussive numbers such as “Everyday I Love You Less and Less,” “Saturday Night,” “I Predict A Riot” and “Na Na Na Na Naa,” are destined to appeal to those with a hankering for zebra-striped blazers and day-glo legwarmers.

And don’t forget about The Bravery’s self-titled Island Records full-length debut, which contains the current hit single “An Honest Mistake” and dance-floor ready selections such as “Fearless,” “Unconditional,” “No Brakes” and positively disco-fied “Public Service Announcement.”