B/E/A/T/B/O/X

iTunes Review

The knowing duo of producer Johnny Jewel and vocalist Ida No create intriguing conceptual dance music on B/E/A/T/B/O/X. The former neo-No Wavers’ sound and vision hints at irony but it’s anybody’s guess as to how one should read their gambit. In any case, they concoct retro body music that’s entertaining. Jewel’s grooves prick up your ears and the man has a way with writing catchy synth parts, but the spark at the center of the project is No’s voice. The diva’s singing can somehow seem both perfectly normal and delightfully odd. There’s a sexy, if cold, flutter in her voice that’s captivating, and her awkward shouts and interjections charm in a hipster sort of way. The dirty disco pulse of “Beatific” serves as a steady backdrop for No’s elegant warbling. A cover of Kraftwerk’s “Computer Love” makes sense, linking the chilly eroticism of the singer’s persona with the German electronica pioneers’ man-machine meldings. “Last Nite I Met a Costume,” a goth-electronic instrumental, sets up the closer, “Digital Versicolor.” It’s hard to understand what No is breathlessly singing about, but she sounds great.