LOVE AND ROCKETS Vinyl Records and CDs

Spawned from the incestuous British Goth/pop scene of the 1980s, Love & Rockets' members spent their formative years cutting their teeth in such notable acts as Bauhaus and Tones on Tail. Decidedly less gloomy and more poppy than either of the aforementioned, Love & Rockets' guitar-driven, Neo Psychedelic pop still hovered somewhere between the sunny and shady sides of the street. Songs such as "Kundalini Express," from arguably their best album (Express), roll along in good spirits not unlike the Cure's "In Between Days." Drone anthems such as "Ball of Confusion" sleepwalk through shadowy melodies and a single groove that sacrifice none of pop's three minute, verse/chorus formula. After holing up in various side projects for the last five years, Love & Rockets are back with their contribution to electronica, as they've traded in their drum sets for more experimental (but less memorable) sequenced House beats and various sorts of sampled blip-and-bleep.