hearsay

There’s something about dated electronic instruments that immediately conjure weird associations for me. Whether it is a flashback to the Revenge of the Nerds musical showcase where they embarrassed the jocks by showing that computers can make some pretty badass music of the future, or if it is that robot arm cousin of Johnny 5 that could play the keyboards in a way that you just knew would soon make people like Emanuel Ax and Schroeder obsolete. Whatever it is, the sounds that 80s electro-pop churned out have the distinct ability to quickly put a smile on my face.

I get the sense that Thieves Like Us share such an affinity for casio keyboards. “Program Of The 1st Part” is a demo of theirs that I stumbled upon, and am hoping will see a release sometime. I like the way that the song builds up from a simple repeating melody into a chorus that screams New Order to me. Otherwise, they probably could get lumped in with the electroclash genre with Fischerspooner. The photos on their website make it hard for me to tell if they are just tongue-in-cheek about their sound and fashion sense, like Ima Robot is, or if they are really a bunch of pretentious, trashy pricks. Based on the ridiculous lyrics of “Drugs In My Body,” I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and guess that they are the first.

For those in New York, they are playing Friday night (the 15th) at The Delancey. This program, it needs you.

: Thieves Like Us - Program Of The 1st Part :