Various Artists: BIPPP: French Synth Wave 1979-85

Artifacts from an era that grows more elusive as

more of its secrets come out to play, the 13 songs on BIPPP signify the '80s well

enough to argue that most working notions of the '80s don't work so well. The

collection of obscurities proves unerringly strong, and the acts enlisted span

from pent-up post-punk (Casino Music) to strobing synth-disco (Les Visiteurs Du

Soir) to new-wave pop in the mold of Kraftwerk and Human League (The Comix).

The highlights don't just slot into their respective niches, but expand them

with musical deviations (incongruous horn lines, synths doing weird things) or

deliciously bleak sentiments angled to shine ("it's a pretty day to die" in a

track by Mary Moor). The best song does a little of both: In "Game And

Performance," the minimaliste band Deux strains an excess of melody out of a

confined keyboard chorus and makes evocative poetry of words as mundane as

"computer programs… shadows in the night."