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Synth-pop is resurging these days, meaning there’s a welcome abundance of fantastic songs that are also super-danceable. The Pass has worked hard at a full, varied ensemble sound, yielding a lively full-length debut. This foursome shares LCD Soundsystem’s modus operandi: borrowing from the entire history of burble-rhythmed hits but never descending to mere pastiche. Brian Healey’s synths naturally dominate many of The Pass’ songs, but “Vultures” finds Kyle Peters interjecting some nimble and pointed guitar. The band occasionally stretches out: The wit of “Large Hadron Collider” is grounded with car-shaking bass, and the quasi-tossed-off quality of “Walk Away” is redeemed by its playfulness. “How To Live” is pure New Order, with everyone firing on all cylinders — it’s one of several showcase songs for an act that only needs some more confident singing and songwriting to quickly rise to the next level. The Pass performs with !!! and Fol Chen Sept. 30 at Headliners.     

This article appears in September 29, 2010.

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New Jersey–expatriate T.E. Lyons reconnected with the written word coincident with the arrival of his first child. His byline has since appeared on over a thousand reviews, previews, features,...