Bang! Bang! is a trio of Chicago kids who kick out the jams -- you know, the ones that mostly came out of Brooklyn a few years ago. As late and unwelcome as Electric Sex might seem, the band's apparent tardiness isn't an attempt to ride the coattails of the New-New Wave, but to study the old and new, learn from the mistakes, and churn out a solid batch of songs.

Agenda-related implications of the album's pink-intensive color notwithstanding, Bang! Bang! wield a simple, obvious weapon that the apathetic "first band" types always miss: they know how to play their instruments. Consider vocalist/guitarist Jack Flash's ability to conjure gritty fifth chords and muffled stabs, pepper his guitar lines with metal-friendly pick-slides, grunge up the band's sound with octave melodies and show off a carefully restrained yet technically tight soloing style -- all over the course of a single track, "Candy Stop". Though vocalist/bassist Gretta Fine prefers to pout out "la, la, la / oh, oh, oh"-type stuff and be your baby-doll on most of her songs (she and Flash trade vocal duties from track to track), she can still harness and release a decent range, including the rage of a psycho stalker who looks gorgeous while she slashes your tires in broad daylight. Her bass work is generally minimal and grounded, but occasionally she carries the melody and riffs as actively as her cohorts. Mike Wednesday's drumming has a tight, rigid feel, but he's no machine. While he has perfected the backbeat and the go-go, the harder rock influences come through as he anticipates choruses and breaks with enough crashes and rolls to keep his role interesting.

Bang! Bang!'s chops aren't just for show; their skill allows them to work with varied dynamics, push different colors and textures and penetrate your senses with the little details that make for multi-dimensional music. Electric Sex is already catchy and danceable, but Bang! Bang! won't be content until they get every last one of you out on the floor.