Seven years deep into the decade, '80s nostalgia continues to percolate. In the early '00s it was all about electroclash, a movement marked by aberrant behavior and cold, stylized offerings such as Peaches' "Fuck the Pain Away" and Miss Kittin's "Frank Sinatra." Today, electroclash is a dirty word, a phrase conjuring the overripe performance theater of Fischerspooner and haircuts reminiscent of A Flock of Seagulls. It's almost as if the world's hipsters recoil in shame from having taken part in such nastiness.

The sound that has emerged to retake the indie-rock clubs in its wake, tentatively called "electro-house" or "new rave," draws from the same '80s-inspired look and sound, astringent synth noises, and stomping, distorted rhythms. Even the phrase "new rave" (or "nu-rave") is up for debate. Klaxons are widely credited with devising the term during a brief flourishing in Britain of rave-styled parties, complete with glow sticks, fluorescent shirts, and Ecstasy "beans." And for a band trying to bring back the spirit of '88 and acid-house-influenced rock similar to the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, "new rave" made sense.

But the strange assembly of bands and electronic producers that some writers and fans collectively describe as "new rave" share nothing in common. It's an easy term to summarize several parallel streams: the angular dance-rock of Death from Above 1979, Killers, and the Rapture; the organic Krautrock and proto-house-influenced jams of LCD Soundsystem and !!!; the postpunk/electro of Le Tigre, Gossip, and Chicks on Speed; the Detroit-influenced electro, techno, and industrial styles of Adult. and Ellen Allien; and the French electro-house of Justice and the Ed Banger Records crew. Remember back in the early '80s, when people used the term new wave to discuss everyone from the Depeche Mode to Prince, artists who had nothing to do with each other? "New rave" is just another clumsy attempt to define an ambiguous and wildly confusing cultural moment.

Such a broad definition can trap all sorts of things, from the electro-funk duo Digitalism (their anticipated Idealism drops this month) to the indie-rock duo Datarock. For the latter, the "new rave" description is somewhat accurate. Much like Klaxons, Datarock make rock songs that move you through sheer propulsion. Fredrik Saroea and Ket-ill, the two Norwegian musicians behind Datarock, use a battery of analog instruments such as bass and electric guitars, and drums and percussion. Their palette extends beyond 4/4 beats, wanders into jittery garage rock and synth-pop, and has a loose, campy sensibility.

The best and worst thing you could say about Datarock's Datarock Datarock is that it feels like a variety show programmed by dilettantes. (Originally released in Europe via Young Aspiring Professionals in 2005, it's getting a U.S. release through Nettwerk.) It opens with the Ramones-styled punk rock of "Bulldozer"; dips into the synth-pop number "I Used to Dance with My Daddy"; blasts along the raging dance-rock screed "Fa Fa Fa"; and even detours into "Ganguro Girl," a sunny groove that Saint Etienne might devise. Near the end arrives "I Will Always Remember You," a disco delight costarring Norwegian electro-pop princess Annie.

If Datarock work overtime cranking out dizzyingly impressive sounds, they practically ignore the words. On "See What I Care," Saroea sings variations of "If you do want to leave me, just go right ahead/See what I care" over and over again. The lyric itself is insubstantial, meant to create a general mood of weariness rather than paint an evocative picture. And that's one of the better examples: on "Laurie," Saroea chants, "I wanna be Lou Reed because I am/I wanna be Lou Reed 'cause I ain't... I wanna meet his woman/Laurie Anderson/Do you understand, Laurie Anderson/Oh, wonder woman."

Datarock Datarock is a cheerily entertaining affair. Unlike Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future, it isn't a statement on "new rave," but a collection of rangy and somewhat derivative pop songs that happen to encompass a similar perspective. That might be enough for most. Datarock may be innocuous, but parties don't always have to have a purpose.recommended