With songs that shimmer like glitter-coated glass skyscrapers, Cut Copy has reached little less than the apex of recent synth-pop structural studies. Unlike other retro-ish groups that merely ape '80s hits they're barely old enough to remember, this Melbourne trio infuses the new-wave formula with fresh, irresistibly catchy melodies. Beginning with 2004's instantly likable lo-fi gem Bright Like Neon Love and refined on this year's radiant In Ghost Colours, Cut Copy's songwriting aesthetic is as naïvely hopeful and seductive as a dance-floor crush. Live drums and guitars wrap themselves in electronic pulses and synth-bass melodies as founder and songwriter Dan Whitney croons and complains about love in his best Bernard Sumner. Paste Cut Copy in the stereo, and you may find yourself dancing about architecture.
