Blood on the Dance Floor @ Nile Theater

With their hair teased to the max, black leather outfits, spikes, and caked-on makeup, Phoenix-by-way-of-Florida duo Blood on the Dance Floor (comprising Dahvie Vanity and Jayy Von Monroe) is clearly the face of modern goth. But what could the term — abused for years by confused parents and teachers, currently swappable with the definition of "emo" — even mean anymore? Here's the thing: While goths of yesteryear blocked out their parents' instruction with throbbing industrial and cavernous doom pop, Blood on the Dance Floor's new album, Evolution, features the kind of candy-coated pop and electro tunes you'd hear on the Disney Channel if it weren't for lyrical content like that of "Revenge Porn" — which, you know, encourages jilted lovers to post nudes of their ex on the web. Things get spooky (sort of) with tunes like "Rise & Shine," which layers screamo growls over a club-ready synth bass, and reality show dramatic with "Incomplete and All Alone" (featuring Joel Madden of Good Charlotte). But for the most part, Blood on the Dance Floor dedicates itself to sonically huge pop, like the Ke$ha-sounding "The Last Dance" and pulsing "Loveotomy." Joy Division and Bauhaus fans never would have recognized the anti-teen suicide banger "You Are the Heart" as a goth anthem, but that's sort of the point. Goth's Evolution has been a curious one, indeed.