By now, we’re familiar with the schtick that Chromeo offers. Their take on 80s pop isn’t too dissimilar from the Darkness’ take on 80s rock and it’s a simple formula really. Take a much maligned genre, and mix the best and worst features of it to make something deliciously cheesy and self aware. Here on their latest effort, Business Casual, Chromeo doesn’t deviate too much from this formula, but that doesn’t mean it’s an unenjoyable listen by any means.

Purveyors of infectious pop music often straddle a fine line between contagiously catchy and annoyingly saccharine, and on this album there’s definitely song songs that land on each side of this line. “Night by Night” is perhaps the best example of a knowingly cheesy song done well. With its autotuned hook, standard drum beat, and 80s rawk guitar solo, it has the potential to be stuck in your head for days. Thankfully, it has an artistic depth that most songs like this don’t. While whatever Katy Perry single gets radio play this week is also probably quite catchy, it surely won’t achieve the replay value that these Chromeo songs have. And though there are moments where their choruses are just too far over the top, it doesn’t really matter. You’re coming into this album expecting cheese, and it’s cheese you recieve

From the moment I first listened to Chromeo with 2007’s Fancy Footwork, I had a bit of an issue with their M.O. It just seems so self indulgent, I mean even here they’re crafting 7 minute synth jams, complete with car horns and “In The Air Tonight” drum fills. It’s the same issue I always had with the Darkness(even though the Darkness never admitted to it) they set out to make something so cheesy, almost intentionally annoying, that it becomes cool. And it does get annoying at times, I mean, listen to “When The Night Falls”, it doesn’t get much more annoying that, but what’s weird is despite my prejudices, I find myself falling prey to their tactics. These songs just end up so stuck in my head, I can’t help but enjoy it.

It says a lot that I went into this album wanting to dislike it, and I just couldn’t. The choruses like the one on “Don’t Turn The Lights On”, are too strong, the production too great, the songwriting too clever. It’s just well done fun music, and that’s hard to ignore.