LP3 (Bonus Track Version)

Editors’ Notes Brooklyn’s Ratatat have managed to create their own brand of electronic music by manipulating some basic “rock” sounds into something that's uniquely their own. Animated guitars and assorted synths and keyboards (including a Mellotron) bend and whoosh, sometimes moving like a Kraftwerk-ian ride on the autobahn, at other times rising and dipping like a rickety roller coaster. On LP3 (yes, their third studio outing) duo Mike Stroud (guitar) and multi-instrumentalist Evan Mast keep the beats flowing with few new moves, but with plenty of devotion to their old ones. The album has a wide assortment of playful textures and ethnic flourishes: there’s a bit of Spain on “Mi Viejo,” and the downtempo “Flynn” glides along on a reggae/dub rhythm while the lively “Mumtaz Khan” exudes a vaguely Middle Eastern vibe. “Gypsy Threat” is great fun, with an assortment of sounds creating a bed of rhythm cleverly layered with a loop of soft vocals. There’s even — gulp —a vocoder on the otherwise groovy “Falcon Jab.” Peppered throughout are tablas tracks, arpeggios of video game bleeps and blips, and even acoustic guitar. This is electronic music with a pop heart.