Collette Carter has raided Stephin Merritt's wardrobe and she's painting the town. The couple formerly known as Stereo Symphonic are reveling in their innate ability to invent interesting pop soundscapes at will. Sharing Merritt's acumen for eclectic synth-sounds and drum-machines, Rod, aka Pacifica, uses his keyboard expertise to create an interactive mélange of sounds and beats. With its emphasis on old Emersonian Moogs and Rushian sounds, the record is a handy primer for anyone who wants to know what ever became of New Wave. Meanwhile, vocalist and girlfriend Wylinda leaves her imprint by glazing each breakbeat with her liquid-nitrogen voice. I am usually leery of this type of music, fearing that it will be too heavy on the techno thumping and too light in the substance department, but Collette Carter is a happy exception.

The first track is a cover of the Secret Star's "Wait", which recalls the soundtracks of planetarium presentations and under-the-sea IMAX films; you'll feel yourself growing comfortable as the music washes over you. By the time you reach the alluring "Wake Up Next to Me", you are firmly ensconced; clearly, you're going nowhere. Wylinda's vocal lines and multitracked harmonies oscillate wildly, to maximum effect -- who needs back-up singers? Rod shows off some of the group's jazzier influences by opening the groovy "Tank Tops & Flip Flops" with a drag-and-roll drumbeat and a mellow piano progression that slinks all the way through the song before speeding up for the verse. Wylinda takes the torch firmly in hand, lamenting lost love and all its incumbent complications.

The highly entertaining "Insincere Mix" begins with what sounds like the keyboard line from Taxi, and climaxes with a perfect application of the chorus from "Video Killed the Radio Star". This kind of "open-door" policy presents Collette Carter with many fecund choices to exploit -- and they do just that, on every track. The New Stroboscopic offers so much ingrained filigree that the listener, regardless of musical tastes, will have enough listening satisfaction to last a long time. If you're still uncertain about electronic music, The New Stroboscopic may well be the record that finally gets you down off the fence.