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33hz

The members of New York City's 33Hz dusted off their love of late-era disco at exactly the right moment: forming in 1998, vocalist/guitarist Benny Lowe, keyboardist Tim Wagner, drummer Gabe Moon, and bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Rafe Terrizzi re-energized a genre long dormant, spiking it for dance-hungry Manhattan scenesters with modish dashes of electronica, blue-eyed soul, silky R&B, and early-era rap. As the band gained its footing around New York clubs in the years prior to its full-length debut, 2005's 33Hz, it refined its sound, leaning less heavily on drum machines and breakbeats and adding no wave and new wave elements. Parsing the particulars of the music, though, is not something 33Hz listeners tune in for; the mood is too spontaneous and strobe-lit to invite influence-hunting and major study. Plus, mapping out a musical path doesn't pose enough of a challenge: Lowe's vocals are at times indistinguishable from Prince's, and classic Chic beats stir up many songs. ~ Tammy La Gorce, Rovi

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