Nowadays it seems that every band feels compelled to teach indie kids how to dance, but the members of Out Hud were doing it back when it seemed like a worthy project: armed with drum machines and possessed of a weakness for interminable song titles, the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Sacramento collective began edutaining scenesters in the late 90s. But their big national break came in 2002 with the all-instrumental album S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D., which carefully interlocked guitar chatter and synth bloopery with funky bass-popping and cymbal-heavy disco beats. Their sometimes austere beatsmanship was warmed up–or just weirded up–by cellist Molly Schnick, and their subsequent single, “One Life to Leave,” suggested they were taking a greater interest in more emotionally generous electro-funk. That warmth pervades the group’s new full-length, Let Us Never Speak of It Again (Kranky), which also shows what charming vocalists Schnick and keyboardist Phyllis Forbes can be; the way they chirp together makes “It’s For You” ring out like prime Tom Tom Club. Beatcraft remains their main reason for existence, though. “Dear Mr. Bush, There Are Over 100 Words for Shit and Only 1 for Music. Fuck You, Out Hud” has a groove as defiant as anything bohemia can muster, and though the song mostly lacks lyrics and entirely lacks bitterness, the message gets across: once you stop dancing, the bad guys win. –Keith Harris
