Put The Rifle Down

Put The Rifle Down are a band who could, in theory, be referred to as synth-pop, or dance-rock, or maybe synth-rock, if only such descriptors hadn't been bled so utterly dry of meaning by indie market researchers repping the last ten 'club-rawk' bands you can't possibly remember. Better, then, to err on the side of hyperbole and just say that these dudes are your new New Order. Through scarily pinpoint awareness of both context and texture, the Toronto foursome retain the spare, wiry instrumental elegance of their sleeve-worn new-wave forbears, while bringing their own completely uncynical new pop maximalism. The result is an intensely urgent, modern sound, shot through with flashes of ungraspable familiarity.