If you’re itching to get your groove on, Ann Arbor’s The Hop has something to scratch that. Three University students came together to release an indie-dance record that will get your heads boppin’, toes tappin’ and earbuds pumpin’.

The Hop

Dance Party
unsigned

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The Hop, which includes vocalist Matt Trahan, guitarist Ryan Tomaro and producer/songwriter Johnny Lawson, first came together in 2009 from different musical backgrounds to bring varied tunes for all to hear. With peppy lyrics reminiscent of the Myspace/Hello Goodbye-esque era, The Hop’s first release, Dance Party, is a conglomerate of club-thumping beats and swooshes of electronica.

A cheesy “Welcome” song opens the album with the AOL dial-up theme. As a heavy bassline pumps in along with keyboards, the ’90s AOL man welcomes the listeners. Though a bit tacky, it does its job of introducing the electro-pop that explodes from the 30-minute disc.

Throughout the album, the boys tell stories with a common college-party theme, set to addictive, bubblegum beats that can shake up the dance floor. Whether they’re about meeting girls at bars or going shot for shot with an indie-scene queen, students here at the University (or any university for that matter) can relate. On “Hi Tonight,” Trahan plays on words as he sings “I’mma get high tonight / I’mma follow the night / I’mma take my hand and play it now / I’mma say hi tonight.” Sounds familiar, huh?

Then there's “She Drives Me Crazy,” in which The Hop rearranges the Fine Young Cannibals's ’80s hit of the same name. The Ann Arborites modernize the tune by adding in their own words but the melody remains the same. Why they chose to recreate that song is a mystery, but the original reigns supreme.

The Hop consistently attempts an ’80s sound and fails. The band syncs laser-beam effects with a drum machine, but the ridiculous lyrics and amateur effects mangle the whole album. In all of Dance Party’s bizarreness comes the title track that consists of stretches of falsetto and really heartfelt lyrics: “I’m at the dance party / and I want to touch you.” All in all, it is a bundle of strange. And the strange does not stop there.

The parting song, cleverly titled “Goodbye,” is a four-and-a-half minute jumble of the dial-up sound effects listeners were introduced to in “Welcome.” Adding to the noise pollution are some completely unnecessary synth grooves that will nevertheless make listeners want to break out in dance.

As the first album from an unsigned band, the final product is not a complete disaster. However, if The Hop wants to make it big, they need to step up their game. And although Dance Party isn’t the most professional and coherent album ever, The Hop’s top priority was to do one thing: start a dance party. And with their first release, they did just that.