Discovery - LP

Since when does mixing the trendiest of Afro-pop with the catchiest of power pop get you an album of synth-filled electronic tunes? Since Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij got together with Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles, giving bloggers around the world somethingother than the damn recession to rant and rave about. Discovery’s LP is the summer’s answer to MGMT, a series of hooky electro-R&B grooves that will be a dance party hit. “Osaka Loop Line” is true to its name, looping synth beats and robotic computer bleeps, and shifting tempo ceaselessly. Eclectic influences infiltrate LP. Discovery gets all T-Pain on us with vocoder vocals on the Jackson 5 cover “I Want You Back,” proving they aren’t afraid to cross over to the mainstream. “So Insane” has sharp Prince-like beats, “Swing Tree” beeps away like your favorite Hot Chip song (or favorite scene in Wall-E), and “Can You Discover?” reworks Ra Ra Riot’s “Can You Tell,” replacing the violin and string arrangements with a maze of wriggled synthesizer and spacey keys. Go ahead: loop the album like Batmanglij and Miles looped the synthesizers. This no-frills, all-fun summer hit is why they invented the repeat button.