Gang Gang Dance

Add Date: May 10 

Artist: Gang Gang Dance 

Album: Eye Contact 

Label: 4AD 

Genre: Electronica, experimental

Comments: When a record doesn't easily fall into a particular genre (or two), we often file it on our "Defies Classification" shelf. (Recent examples include Gang Gang Dance's 4AD labelmate tUnE-yArDs and this week's Italian film score-meets-pop collaboration between Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi.) And while I'm fully comfortable with putting Eye Contact on the electronica shelf, perhaps no band further defies classification than this Manhattan troupe.

This is electronic music, to be sure. But don't call it electropop--the last syllable of that word doesn't seem to exist in Gang Gang Dance's vocabulary. Worldbeat rhythms, indecipherable vocals, 11-minute songs (see opener and album highlight "Glass Jar"), don't add up to "pop", persay, and yet this is easily one of the most engaging and interesting records to be released thus far in 2011. But don't take my word for it--check out Eye Contact for yourself, especially if you're into Yeasayer, early Animal Collective or Brian Eno. Try tracks 4, 1, 5 and 3.