That’s pretty much what they do at Luxx and at similar clubs in L.A., Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco. But despite the bumping beats, today’s electro acts have a more severe, film-noir vibe than their ’80s prototypes. The Faint, based in Omaha, Neb., puts on a seizure-inducing light show to accompany its chilly synth-punk; Soviet’s dreamily robotic melodies sound as if they’re borrowed from the gloomier moods of Joy Division.
And many of these bands look the part: black duds, skinny ties, asymmetrical hair. Electroclash is as much about visual style and presentation as it is about the music–a welcome change at a time when, aside from a few pierced navels, music hasn’t been giving us a whole lot to look at. “To watch regular club music live is boring,” says Casey Fischer of the electroclash band Fischerspooner. “DJs, they’re pretending to turn knobs. I guarantee you they’re just surfing the Net.” Back in the ’80s, who’d have thought Luddites would play synths? That new wave would get old? Or that old new wave would be the new new thing?
