Album: The Phenomenal Handclap Band, TPHB, (Tummy Touch)

Starting with an instrumental that could be lifted from a turn-of-the-1980s cop movie, The Phenomenal Handclap Band spread their cards on the table upfront.

The New York octet have no shame about drawing on retro sources with no regard for coolness or lack thereof. Soundtracks, psych-rock, disco... it's all here (sometimes within the same song), resulting in a concoction that's, by turns, atmospheric and in-your-face funky. Anyone who's squeezed the last drops from the Empire of the Sun and MGMT albums ought to give this a try.