In Brief

*** Ace of Base, “The Sign,” Arista. The spirit of late-’70s Euro-disco lives on in Ace of Base, the Swedish quartet known for the singles “All That She Wants” and “The Sign.” On their debut album, that old formula--in-your-face bass, snappy beats, syrupy melodies, tinny vocals and simplistic boy-deals-with-girl lyrics--makes for some great, mindless dance music.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).