Hometown: New York.
The line-up: Pete Cafarella (vocals, synths), Nate Smith (drums).
The background: Shy Child are leaders of the American branch of the new rave movement that's sweeping the globe. Well, tickling the globe. They formed in 2000 after Cafarella and Smith played in punk-funk outfit El Guapo. Scenesters on NYC's chi-chi club circuit, Shy Child toured Europe and Japan, and in summer 2006 they signed with UK label Wall of Sound.
A combination of throbbing beats and virtuoso musicianship, every sound comes from Nate's drumming and Pete's liberal use of the keyboard-guitar, aka the keytar or guiboard, one of the cheesiest instruments of the 80s, rescued from kitsch oblivion by Cafarella, who plays it while throwing shapes onstage. In a way, they're the White Stripes who never got married or wore red, black and white, and like Jack'n'Meg they make quite a racket for such a small unit.
They've toured with Hot Chip, Chemical Brothers, CSS and Klaxons and remixed Editors and Futureheads among others, but really they sound like no one else. The keyboard FX (squiggles, buzzes, sirens) and synth flourishes are either prog-ish (they dig Rush) or mentasmic (they've heard of Joey Beltram) and the vocals recall the art-wave drone-singing of Andy Partridge or David Byrne. Some of their songs are aciiiidic, a few bear traces of rock at its most solo-centric, others are 80s electro-pop revisited or Timbaland-ish twitch-grooves, while a couple sound like booty-shakers for funky humanoids in a 23rd century disco. Confused? You will be.
The buzz: "Sounds like it could soundtrack some hellish fashion-mag launch party."
The truth: Sounds like a pair of decent impressionists trying their hand at a variety of pop, rock and dance styles from the 70s to the present.
Most likely to: Become the Rory Bremners of dance.
Least likely to: Forge an individual identity.
File next to: Klaxons, KLF, XTC, Utopia.
What to buy: Noise Won't Stop is released by Wall Of Sound on May 7, with the album of the same title to follow in the summer.
Links: Official site MySpace page
Tomorrow's new band: The Teenagers.
Paul Lester