Dance Mother

Album Review

Dance Mother is a fitting name for Telepathe's debut album: the band's mix of hard-edged beats and softer electronic textures often feels strangely primordial, like it's growing and evolving into something that will eventually become dance music. Despite the drums that propel every track, these songs lean toward the dancefloor but only step on it occasionally, preferring instead to cast hazy, free-flowing atmospheres. Telepathe began with these experimental roots on their first EPs, gradually getting more pop with each release. Producer David Sitek takes them even further toward an accessible yet unique sound on Dance Mother, adding focus and depth to the band's music without losing its strangeness. Busy Gangnes and Melissa Livaudais' girlish vocals sound even more innocent in contrast to the surging synths and hip-hop-tinged beats of "Chrome's on It," and Telepathe are just as likely to deliver a subtly catchy kiss-off song like "In Your Line" as they are a spoken word, stream-of-consciousness piece like "Devil's Trident." There's more than a little of the witchiness of Livaudais' previous project, First Nation (who changed their name to Rings when she left), here, particularly on "Trilogy." At times, this can be merely repetitive instead of hypnotic, but there's almost always something intriguing about Dance Mother, whether it's the collision of Middle Eastern melodies and blatantly synthetic keyboards and drums on "Lights Go Down" or "Michael"'s mix of joyous Afro-pop guitars and sweetly sung threats like "My greatest joy would be to destroy you." Telepathe are at their best when their songs feel like a pure rush of emotion, as on opening track "So Fine," which blends love and death into dramatic pop. However, the album's towering highlight is "Can't Stand It," a yearning epic that echoes the dreamy yet ecstatic feel of fellow Sitek collaborators the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz! While it's a little uneven, Dance Mother is often fascinating, and a big step forward for Telepathe without losing what made them distinctive in the first place.