British pop composer Ben Jacobs becomes Max Tundra from the moment his "knees and arms start quivering in time to the curious rhythms," he explained in a recent interview. Tundra explores the flickers between fiction and realism, crooning vaguely pessimistic, perversely absurd lyrics atop fractured synth melodies. But the MIDI-addled, micro-edited quirks are endearing, offering a gleeful take on falsetto synth-funk. Accompanying Tundra's vintage sequencer delirium is Deastro, the '80s- and 8-bit-influenced vehicle of Michigan's Randy Chabot. The chiming, charming music of Deastro is highly animated, delivered by a live duo tweaking electro-acoustic arrangements that flit through flexible melodies and brooding observations.
