2020 Soundsystem

Hailing from Leeds, England, 2020 Soundsystem is a quartet that puts the "disco" in disconnected. The combined effort of Danny "Dubble D" Ward, Ralph Lawson, Fernando Pulichino, and Julian Sanza, the group produces tracks that are diffused with dub but still punctuated with physical triggers. The group invites you to bliss out even as it incites you to throw down. It's a sound that's electro- and tech-informed, in the classical sense of drawing from the new wave funk of early '80s New York and tussling with preminimal house. 2020 Soundsystem was always conceived as a performance vehicle, however, not as some studio project forced to do a promo tour. So it's somewhat surprising that the majority of the group's sophomore full-length, Falling, does little to belie the band's live roots. Or perhaps it does. The songs' components — coming from Ableton Live, synths, bass, and drums — are so synchronized that they must have been tested and expertly retuned, and the road could be as good a place as any to do so. Multilayered effects and insistent Moroder-like arpeggio contrast with deadpan, disembodied vocals, creating a blend of wet and dry tones that is singular and original.