Robot Rock

"I get a sugar rush thinking of you too much," intones head Electric Ronnie Martin in the beginning of Joy Electric's pop opus Robot Rock, setting the tone for the album's perfectly molded, confectionery synthpop. Martin aptly describes Joy E's sound in "Monosynth" as he sings, "Notes go beep in perfect time and beat / The metronome, he's our friend / Oscillators join in unison for the grand conclusion," capturing the essence of the band's purely synthetic soundscape, which draws equally from new-wave retrochic, classic pop structures, and punk attitude. The songs are short and simple, eschewing long intros and breaks for solid hooks and clean melodies. Though some of the musical themes and instrumentation get a little repetitive, Robot Rock's plentiful riffs and short, sugar-sweet songs invite many repeated listenings. --Brad Caviness