BabybeefAfter the Quake Records **

In case you couldn't tell, the 1980s are back. A new generation of musicians have immersed themselves in that decade's electro-pop spectrum, cherrypicking the best bits and putting their own modern spin on the fragments. Step forward Babybeef, aka Sarah Carroll Kelly, a Dublin-based multi- instrumentalist in thrall to all things synthpop. Yet as much as her debut shows promise, it ultimately lacks a sucker punch of a tune that encapsulates Babybeef's musical manifesto. There's little variation in tone between songs such as the weak Music and a misguided cover of AC/DC's Thunderstruck, although Wait makes amends by blending Jimmy Sommerville- style anthemesque riffs with Kylie's pop sensibilities. Interestingly, it's the experimental glitch and gloopiness of closing reprise

Tell Methat intimates the album that could have been, if only its boundaries were pushed to their limits. See myspace.com/baby beefmusic

Download tracks:16 Candles, Wait