Data 80

Bright and glossy 80s-style techno, courtesy of Mr. Hakan Lidbo. But instead of much of the 'electroclash' coming out these days, DATA 80 goes for the highly polished sheen of pop ("Love Will Always Find You," for instance), rather than gloomy new wave. Plenty of vocoder, for those who like that sort of stuff. Lidbo messes with the system, however, by throwing in slightly glitchy touches that keep the listener on his toes. While the majority of the tracks are upbeat, "The Boy Who Grew Up to Be A Boy (Extended Mix)" goes a slower route, an electronic ballad with vocoder, while the non-extended version is all glitchy electro. The real gem of the bunch, however, is "Don't Believe Me," the best meta-pop song I've ever heard. It's self-referential and irreverent, which automatically puts it on my spin list. A great album altogether.