Eye Contact

Improbably, Gang Gang Dance are now close enough to the indie mainstream that rising stars Florence and the Machine had to fork over credits and royalties for their hit "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" because it none-too-subtly bit "House Jam" from 2008's Saint Dymphna. Not that the New York quintet make it easy for themselves: their fifth album kicks off with the muttered declaration "I can hear everything...it's ev'rythin' time..." before leading into the warped, off-kilter synth intro of the 11-minute epic "Glass Jar." As the odd, semi-ambient sounds pile on top of each other, it seems like Gang Gang Dance are going out of their way to remind newcomers of their experimental-noise roots, but then a genuinely lovely, meandering keyboard melody swells underneath the twittering electronics and rattling drum interjections, until finally the whole thing turns into one of the most immediately inviting pop songs they've ever done. Eye Contact is full of those intriguing reversals, effortless shifts between worldbeat-influenced exotica (most notably on the Cantopop-inspired "Chinese High"), clattering rhythmic breakdowns and a new emphasis on swirling dream pop suited to their new corporate home at 4AD Records. (Indeed, there are flashes where singer Lizzie Bougatsos sounds shockingly like Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser.) One of the best songs is called "Adult Goth," which quite neatly sums up the album's many charms: anyone whose high school years involved Dead Can Dance or Siouxsie and the Banshees will feel right at home.