I can’t honestly figure out why I like–nay, love–this album. I’m not always such a sucker for synth pop made in the ’80s by long-haired Canadians with a penchant for obscurant, potentially really offensive political musings (“Living in China”), Dada-lite imagery (“Ideas for Walls”), heroic anomie (“Antarctica”) and totally inscrutable dance crazes (“Safety Dance”). Two things I do know, and they may be completely irrelevant: (1) whenever I start listening to a lot of Magnetic Fields, I inevitably reach for this record, too, and (2) if Gang of Four had been a Canadian synth-pop-dance band, they might have been Men Without Hats… before “Pop Goes the World” anyway.

Sean Nelson has worked at The Stranger on and off since 1996. He is currently Editor-at-Large. His past job titles included: Assistant Editor, Associate Editor, Film Editor, Copy Editor, Web Editor, Slog...