HARLAN

Night Loop

thestillbeat.com

This Southern duo has everything it needs to make edgy electro-pop for urbane Northerners. There are static-electric synth sounds, restless beats, reverb-rich vocals, cryptic lyrics, and the kinds of bluesy guitar riffs Depeche Mode uses to conjure the mystical dread of the Mississippi Delta. Only this isn’t music for nightclubs. Multi-instrumentalists John Norris and Scott Campbell aim more for planetariums, campfires and parked cars—places where darkness invites honest conversation and quiet contemplation. Hushed and homey, with bits of folk and ’60s pop breaking through the electronic throb, songs like “Two” and “Sending Your Positions” suggest sweetness and wonder. That may be unintentional, but it’s certainly no hipster put-on.