The Tough Alliance, A New Chance

As its name might suggest, The Tough Alliance specializes in confrontation. Childhood friends Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund create sunny synth pop designed not only to get them through merciless winters in Göthenburg, Sweden, but also intended to serve as the foundation for a façade-subverting spectacle. Their untrained vocals are both whiny and enthusiastic, howling across smooth bright keyboards like a horny cat rubbing its hindquarters against every convenient surface. Rather than writing about love and dancing, they search for meaning and authenticity — "something special, something real," as they cry in A New Chance's opening manifesto. They're sincere, well-dressed, and boy-band handsome. Yet in performance they ignore their instruments and sing as much as Britney Spears, preferring to incite pandemonium. It's not just a metaphor when they sing "First Class Riot."

None of this would matter if TTA didn't write fantastically catchy songs wrapped around inventive arrangements that crisscross indie-rock, unabashed pop, and countless club micro-genres. On "First Class Riot," the breakthrough radio hit back home, Fürst and Berglund take on the haters while pounding pianos over a jaunty tom-tom rumble that would make Adam Ant smile knowingly. The instrumental "Miami" flips between a keyboard hook tweaked from Shannon's Latin freestyle classic "Let the Music Play" and pining, high-pitched basslines straight out of the New Order cookbook, but there's plenty else ping-pong-ing across the speakers for listeners less inclined to catch these references. "Looking For Gold" even strays into dub-reggae territory as warm synth waves gently lap and gurgle. At 32-and-a-half minutes, this eight-track album harkens back to disco days when concise LPs meant fatter, cleaner grooves. A dance band for go-getters with no time for filler, The Tough Alliance would rather fall apart than pawn off a weak track.