Wildly surreal, gorgeous, and irritating, Git ultimately wins you over with its originality and daring. Formed at Oberlin College by singer/multi-instrumentalist Matt Mehlan, this cerebral collective is determinedly electronic and rhythmic. At the same time, Mehlan writes beautiful melodies, as evidenced by “See the Way,” the jittery, hypnotic title track, and the psychedelic, churchy “While We Were at the Movies.”

Sparked by the synthesizer of Peter Blasser and the percussion of Severiano Martinez, this group feels cybernetic. But no matter how electronic it gets, nature is always lurking. Even the final track, “Do You Feel Any Better?”, takes on a pastoral feel following fevered synthesizer throbs and Mehlan’s phased vocals.

The iconoclastic Git is in the tradition of early Pere Ubu, when mystical keyboardist Allen Ravenstine balanced David Thomas’ otherworldly bleats, as well as Human Switchboard, a Kent alternapop group of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Pop so startling deserves a wide audience.

This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 5, 2005.