One Track Mind

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It has been over two years since the indie dance world has heard any new music from electro-pop duo Chromeo, but the drought is over. In conjunction with the Green Label Sound project, the band has just released a song from their upcoming third LP (whose name and release date are very much TBD). Since releasing 2004′s She’s in Control, the Québécois rump shakers have been flag bearers for the cheekily retro electronic music scene whose cause was more or less abandoned after the electroclash movement of the early oughts faded away. Through their singles, full-lengths, and a slew of remixes for artists (including Vampire Weekend, Cut Copy, and Feist), Chromeo extolled the virtues of “P.Y.T.”-era Michael Jackson long before he was being lionized, brought back the notion of a bitchin’ keytar solo, and generally paid homage to the heroes of the early ’80s synth-pop scene.

There isn’t much to speak of in the way of surprises on “Night by Night,” at least not for anyone familiar with Chromeo’s sound; as always the pair are after consistency and style, not novelty. If anything, the band now finds themselves even more fully engaged in idol worship mode, but it feels completely reverent, with just a touch of the knowing wink tossed in. When Chromeo channel Hall & Oates or Jan Hammer’s infamous Miami Vice theme, it is always done with love, and as usual, the band somehow finds a way of simply making it work. “Night by Night,” from its vocoded vocals to its over the top guitar solo, is delicious, uninhibited fun, the kind of guilty pleasure that makes you wish you had your own private dance floor. Chromeo may choose to stay firmly within their established canon; however, they also prove that is sometimes the smartest decision a band can make.