Kate Boy Returns With Glossy, Grand “Self Control”

After bursting onto the scene last year with three massive, immaculately produced synth-pop songs, Stockholm-based trio Kate Boy receded into the cold Scandinavian darkness to hammer out their debut album. And now they have finally reemerged with "Self Control," the first single off the still-untitled LP, and it finds the group venturing into poppier territory while ratcheting up the digital freneticism.

"Self Control" ditches some of the murkiness of their Knife-indebted early releases, which means the song is brighter and thus a bit less intriguing. But still, their synth noises sound better than anyone else's at the moment (and there's some stiff competition these days). The track is stacked with melodies, and the shimmering, burbling activity underneath Kate Akhurst's vocals will have your ears ping-ponging from detail to detail.

Imagine Club Noveau's "Lean on Me" as reinterpreted by Peter Gabriel's evil Swedish twin, and you'll get a sense of the vibe here.