If you’re one of the few not plagued by thoughts of mortality and burdened by self-reflection, consider yourself lucky. If you’re a brooder, however, then Shift Age, by NYC dark electro-rock project The Great Void, might be the record for you. It bears all the outwards signs of happy pop music, though the longer you listen, the more surreal it gets. Especially vivid is “Medicine Ball,” whose plunky synths and new-wave vocals divert bleakly-rendered lines like, “I know we’d have fun/But you’re much too young.” By “Shift Age (Part 2),” it’s clear the gloss is just a cover for deconstructing nostalgia itself. “Out with the days of the old ways” sings leader Josh Ascalon before a barrage of high-pitched squeals surge towards an apocalyptic finale. Or maybe that’s just the hardware inside his keyboard threatening to fry out? – Brian Chidester
