The Divorce

With viral melodies, sold-their-soul technique and devilish beats, the four horsemen of Seattle’s the Divorce create end-times party music that doubles as another sign of the apocalypse — the deliciously sinful triumph of style over substance. Opening with the festive “Yes!” and whipping us into a caffeinated froth with tracks like “Cash Machine” and “Fishing With the Party Sharks,” the band’s latest, The Gifted Program, provides the same guilty pleasure as a fistful of Pop Rocks: undeniably fun and utterly meaningless. With great bands like OK Go and Bloc Party pulling similar new-wave-flavored dance moves with more sophistication and subtlety, the Divorce occasionally comes off as the little kid who only half understood his big brother’s Gang of Four records. Still, with the end of the world looming on the horizon, there’s no better time to lose yourself in a frenzy of careless dancing.