Adult.

When the dance-punk wave hit a few years back, synthesizer-heavy acts like Adult. were suddenly swimming in the same waters as guitar-based bands like the Rapture and Death From Above 1979. It was easy for trendy DJs to follow up "House of Jealous Lovers" with a quirky Adult. electro-laden number. But lately, the Detroit-based outfit has walked away from the dance floor and fallen into programmed noise-inspired weirdness. The group -- now a trio with the recent addition of guitarist Sam Consiglio -- produced two albums last year (an EP and a full-length), both of which scored high with stingy critics like those at Pitchfork but failed to impress most others. Gimme Trouble, the full-length released on Thrill Jockey, spins the band 'round and 'round the electroclash pole, leaving listeners dizzy and utterly bewildered. The experience is either a brilliant ploy to finally kill bad techno or just an eccentric experiment gone horribly wrong.