Hey! You got rock in my Synth!

Mixing electronic music with rock is hardly a new thing. Blondie and Devo were doing it back in the 1980s when it was still new. Refused and Botch broke it through with hardcore in the late '90s. For goodness sakes, Aerosmith worked with Run DMC on a redo of "Walk This Way" and even though they are a Hip Hop group they grew out of the turntablist culture of the late '70s and early '80s. Few though make the hybrid sting with the amount of panache that newcomers Innerpartysystem does. On their self-titled album for Island records, the four-piece have released a vicious mix of electronic drums, synths straight out of the club and lyrics as personal and elaborate as any rock song. Singer Patrick Nissley clearly wants you, the listener, to feel the bass as much as he wants you to move your head to the sinful sketches of lust and lost souls in the night. His programming plays a large and very moving part on album-highlight "Last Night in Brooklyn" and the first single "Don't Stop." The rest of the band is just as good. Drummer Jared Piccone's skill and crisp play rouse the record just as much as the synth or the programming. Kris Barman's guitar-playing is more subtle than the other instruments but it keeps the sound closest to the rock sound that will put these young men on the map. Their record on this effort is a good one for a first one. It brings to mind the first Killers record (2004's Hot Fuss), which was a record that was wonderful at the highlights yet sometimes forgettable for the low points, but it did set the ground for further efforts that excelled that one. Hopefully Innerpartysystem uses this as a starting point to move towards a better and more thorough definition of their sound. Innerpartysystem is out now on Island Records. Innerpartysystem will be playing the Avalon Theatre in Salt Lake City on Dec. 16.