COLD BEAT
MOTHER
DFA
★★★
Few names would better suit this San Francisco art-synth-pop quartet, who blow a chill wind through fastidious electronic pop. Mother is Jan Hammer attempting to convert Joy Division to krautrock, while Through lies somewhere between Visage and early New Order. It’s never cold-hearted, though: Hannah Lew’s vocals are quietly dazed but pretty, and there are further sweetly stirring moments. Paper’s guitars and sax solo recall Angelo Badalamenti, and Smoke provides a John Carpentermeets-M83 opener, though Flat Earth verges on the twee.