Various

With the resurgence of the French electronic scene at hand, L.A.-based fledgling label Everloving has picked an opportune moment to pick up the North American rights to this admirable compilation of French electro-pop obscurities. BIPPP: French Synth Wave 1979/85 presents a convincing portrait of an era of regional synth bands that were all but overlooked by the international community, even though acts like Casino Music, Vox Dei and Deux all share the same cold allure of early Depeche Mode and Yaz albums. But many of these acts fizzled on arrival and faded away. From this vantage point, it’s difficult to see how Ruth’s "Polaroid-Roman-Photo,” the most immediate song here, failed to sell more than 50 copies the first time round. At 13 artists, BIPPP does what every essential compilation should do: it brings together disparate obscurities while managing to turn up a forgotten treasure trove from one of dance music’s early scenes.