Aussie quartet turns ’80s new wave on its head

“Need You Now” became a multi-Grammy-winning song for Lady Antebellum after its release in 2010. “Zonoscope” opens with a track of the same name but wholly opposite results: high-pitched cowbell, moody vocals and synth that sounds like it’s coming out of an eye-dropper.

Cut Copy, a quartet of Australian synthpoppers with a flair for taking 1980s new wave and making it super scene and super conscious, burns the wick on its “Need You Now” much slower than the aforementioned Lady A. It opens with a pulsation onto which the group patiently creates layer after layer of sound in true revivalist form, culminating in a beautifully earnest chorus that simply disappears at its conclusion.

The album’s cover art is, at first, alarmingly “Day After Tomorrow,” with an enormous waterfall cascading through the streets of New York City. The group has talked down the apocalyptic talk, though, suggesting it represents something equal parts mechanical and organic, much like its sound.

That’s a good idea. Forays into more pop-friendly areas like “Take Me Over” and “Where I’m Going” are indulgent ’80s delight, filling up the air with cooing background vocals and unrelenting melodies.

“Strange Nostalgia for the Future” is an instrumental sequence that transcends the mood of album, helping it swing back and forth from pleasant to sad. 

The dancing chimes, sonic synths and constant keyboards make for a smorgasbord from beginning to end. Cut Copy begs, borrows and steals heavily from an era that never fails to be interesting, and it lives up to that billing.