Telepathe

Virtually everything that musician/producer Dave Sitek touches — including albums by his own band, TV on the Radio — turns to gold, and the Sitek-helmed Dance Mother from Brooklyn avant-synthpoppers Telepathe is no exception. The previous material that emerged from the duo of Melissa Livaudais and Busy Ganges was compelling, but Mother is a mother of a full-length debut, merging throwback New Order/Depeche Mode-style electro-throb, skittery IDM beats, shoegazer and post-punk soundscapes straight from early Lush, Slowdive, and Cocteau Twins albums, and gothically dreamy, haunting coos and vocal harmonies. Onstage, Telepathe — often fleshed out with two, three or more musicians — tends to be less ethereal and melodic, instead offering a more experimental and challenging attack, with extended passages of raw, primal beats and squelches and a devotion to trance-inducing grooves. If you're hoping for a re-creation of the album, it's doubtful you'll get it, but — much as it is with TV on the Radio's live approach — getting a different side of Telepathe's creative personality in concert is an equally engaging experience.