24/7

The Icelandic electronica outfit Gusgus got a fair amount of attention when it released its 1997 debut, Polydistortion, which is still probably their best work. Gusgus — more of a multi-media collective than a band when it started out — now consists of three members: Biggi Veira, Daniel Agust, and President Bongo. On 2009’s 24/7, the group works a pretty clearly defined patch of techno turf. The opener, “Thin Ice” sounds like slow-motion dance music in a mysterious dream. At one point, the groove shifts up to a medium tempo, and there is a sense of melancholy and danger as Agust intones, “I feel like dancing / on the thinnest of ice.” Things remain edgy on “Hateful.” This time Agust sings, “I’ll hit you where it hurts you / if you force me to my knees,” over a hard house beat. The best cut, “Take Me Baby,” features the distorted, appealingly low-and-slow vocals of the Finnish lounge-meets-techno artist Jimi Tenor, who also wrote the track. The lyrics are as simple as “Take me baby /Take me now” but Tenor’s odd, slightly sleazy performance is riveting.