When someone like Michael Mayer comes out with an album so ordinary, it has to be disappointing. Kompakt has been releasing melodic house for years but as the head honcho of said label, Mayer should be trying harder to push his sound into new directions. There's something awfully forgettable and transitory about melodic house which adversely affects its replayability. MANTASY is comparable to Four Tet's PINK (2012) and Daphni's JIAOLONG (2012) in style, and all three left me indifferent. There are some outstanding tracks on all three albums but the overall effect is remarkably weak. Cheesy, upbeat house is acceptable, but I favor darker, deeper music. I think the Flying Lotus describes the matter best: "You figure out what the feeling is, and if it's one of those good feelings, you don't want it to last too long. It's like an orgasm, man - if it lasted forever, it wouldn't be awesome."The issue with MANTASY is that this feeling is spread thin, reducing its emotional impact. Moreover, where is the "jacking" or funk element in this album? House music lives and dies by this aspect. The melodic hooks are vibrant and well-constructed, but the bassline and drum track, whereby the funk is manufactured, doesn't get the job done. It pales in comparison to Hercules & Love Affair's DJ Kicks, which unashamedly lays on those cheesy melodies, but also brings the funky grooves to back it up.