Gang Signs

Vancouver, BC trio Gang Signs make an implicitly sexual dance-punk dirge, flirting with morbid funk and the kind of synth-pop you picture Gary Numan making, were he 30 years younger and signed to Captured Tracks. Sterilized somewhat by spectral male-female vocals, their debut EP is an impulsive delight that wallows along on synthesized thumps, electronic twinkles and wheezing minor-key bass. Indeed, buoyed by the shallow seduction of numbers like"'Runnin" and "Counting on You," it's not so much the kind of dance record you'd put on at your club night as one kept tucked hopefully beside the living room hi-fi, in anticipation of that elusive after-dinner date. It follows that Gang Signs occasionally cries out for some genuine terror behind the stylish fug, but it's likely that whatever lurks amongst those shadows will, for the time being, keep you and your seat edge firmly acquainted.