Yesterday, Andy noted in his introduction about Rochester’s Old Tapes that our city’s music has been gravitating towards synthesizers, which is never a bad trend in my book. Along with Old Tapes and Joywave, another group was also mentioned that has been popping up around our area over the past few months and they are the epitome of the dance craze fun that electro-pop inspires.

The band is called KOPPS, and it consists of Patricia Petrone on vocals and Kyle O’Hara on synths, guitar, and backup vocals, with Mike Passero providing the bass and backup vocals at live shows. Having just started in 2010, the duo is young, but after listening to the two songs they have released so far – “Shatter” and “Terminator” – you can sense maturity in the vocals, arrangements, and production. This is modern pop music in its purest form – three performers busting out electro hooks and vocal ranges that have not been a part of our music scene until now.

On May 5, KOPPS played their second show, opening for Joywave at the 77777 mix-tape run through. Right from the get-go, it became clear that the sole purpose of this band is to get the crowd movin’ and shakin’, as was evident by Petrone’s non-stop energy that she exerted throughout every second of every song. Partnered up with her on-stage aerobics was a powerful voice that could shame many of the Top 40 pop stars. There’s no room for studio magic when you perform at the Bug Jar, and Petrone made it known that she’s got pipes to match the driving force of O’Hara’s beats. The fact that her voice never faltered during her antics is a testament to her showmanship and talent. With only two shows and two officially released songs under their belt, there is a ton of room for KOPPS to grow and it’ll be entertaining to see where they go from here.

Both “Shatter” and “Terminator” can be downloaded for free on KOPPS’ Facebook page, and they have plans to release to a new song, “Machine,” in the near future.

Connect with KOPPS: Web | Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

KOPPS // Shatter [mp3]

KOPPS // Terminator [mp3]

Starfucker is destined for larger venues, and deservingly so. The show on Saturday, April 9 was pure heat that could barely be contained within the walls of the tiny Bug Jar.

Before the band lit up their one-hour dance party, a hip-hop trio from Seattle called Champagne Champagne owned the stage, serving up a set that was an energetic stretch and warm-up for Starfucker. I’d go into more detail, but these guys require a post of their own, so be on the lookout for that in the near future.

Starfucker took the stage at midnight, shot off the starting gun, and were off the races until 1 a.m. Amidst a club-like setting of fluttered laser lights projected across the room, the band scorched through material from all three of their albums never once letting up. The only relatively slower paced song was their set opener, “Astoria,” off new album Reptilians. What this song set the stage for was a collection of songs that are tightly contained to the five guys on stage having to cycle through a variety of instruments including guitars, synths, percussion, DJ equipment for scratching, loops and samples.

Songs such as “Mystery Cloud” and “Laadeedaa” both kept a furious pace but made the room erupt into rave mode when they finally reached their peaks with the band thriving off of the crowd’s energy. ”Bury Us Alive,” the first single off of Reptilians, helped to keep the floor shaking, and it probably offered the most when it came to lead guitar with a a five-note screech used to introduce the synth-laden chorus. And the first large cheer for a song from the crowd came among the first notes of “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second,” a song that put the band on the map when it was used in a Target commercial in 2009.

You wouldn’t think that a large portion of Starfucker’s songs are about death were you to look around the room at the crowd’s reaction. The explosion of synths, loops, disco dance beats, and thumping bass were the main ingredients to each song played, inspiring almost every audience member to jump around, wave their hands and basically morph this party into the mini-rave that it was. It seemed like the crowd just couldn’t take it anymore when the tracer synths of “Julius” started to creep through the speakers. This song brought the room to a head and it was only halfway through the set.

Starfucker continued to forge on, with Ryan Biorstad and Josh Hodges leading the way by sharing vocal duties, trading synth measures, taking part in stage antics, and engaging in some sporadic scratching to bring a hip-hop feel to their set.. Whether it was intense headbanging, robot dancing during “Dance Face 2000,” and stage diving, the five-piece continuously fed off of the crowds energy as the audience held up their hands as if begging for more.

The party continued with the poppy staccato rhythms of “Medicine,” the opening track on the band’s EP, Jupiter, and “Quality Time,” an instrumental number that could bring out fist-pumping actions in the most lax concert goer. The song serves as the grand finale on Reptilians as one long crescendo, beginning with octave trades on Shawn Glassford’s bass and then building into yet another club-worthy dance number that contains long drawn out synth chords while drummer Keil Corcoran kept the metronome beats going.

I honestly can’t think of a better concert that I have attended within the past three or four months. Maybe I did, but Starfucker has brainwashed me with their infectious hooks and the fact that their main goal, more than anything else, is to create an atmosphere that allows their audiences to have a great time away from any worry that they may have in their lives. They accomplished this ten-fold. You could tell everyone in the room, band included, was experiencing this. If there was one song that could sum up the night, it would be their cover of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Everyone in the room came for a fun time, and Starfucker exceeded all expectations. This band is not to be missed if they happen to land in a town near you.