Telepathe have been getting a lot of press recently, hailed by many taste-makers as the new face of electro cool. Names like Dave Sitek have been dropped aplenty (just did it again!), and they are often lumped in with the avant garde side of Brooklyn, with bands like Gang Gang Dance and Effi Briest. But don't think from this that Telepathe possess only American underground appeal. Nope, they would be equally at home in Shoreditch or any other hotspot as they would in NYC. Their cool is multi-national, dodging geographical pinpointing with the hotch-potch of influences that can be heard whilst listening to Dance Mother. Dance Mother is their first full length album, and after a few well received E.P's prior, it seems that Telepathe are really honing their sound, and most importantly, their ear for a subtle hook or two. There is a lot about their music that is instant and quite addictive, from the tribal percussion thumps that accompany 'In Your Line', to the cute and innocent half-rap, half poetic delivery of Busy Gagnes in standout track 'Chrome's On It'. And while a lot of the music repeats itself and infinitum, this slightly progressive take on pop structures does lend Telepathe a lot of charm, with 'Can't Stand It' being an ethereal, ambient yet powerful slice of droney joy.It does feel that at times Telepathe are battling with the bad side of pretentiousness, but thankfully they manage to push through and create something credible and not alienating. The spoken word meets 80's new romanticism of 'Devil's Trident' threatens to capsize Telepathe into the ocean of snobbish musical progressives, but thankfully Sitek's quality production, and Telepathe's skill with instrumentation helps to drag the vocals into much friendlier territory.This album does often bring to mind an image of a room full of overly trendy types (the fake ones, not the respectable ones) swaying in mesmerized motions to the heavily layered wonk-pop of Telepathe (see the M.I.A. baiting 'Lights Go Down'), and for people who like their electro straight up, and their pop obvious, this may not be a good recommendation. But I advise you to give Dance Mother a fair few listens, because what starts off being new age and musically elitist eventually becomes friendly and charming in bucketloads. Telepathe are a band who are trying to break an image that could potentially narrow and stifle their career, and with Dance Mother they have made many good steps in that direction. There are many pop gems in this album, it just may take you a while to find them. 80%Telepathe on MySpace