NYC's +/- (search "Plus Minus" in Google, and you'll find them) features two former members of the beloved band, Versus. The trio plays haunting pop that sounds a little like the early Death Cab for Cutie albums (who they also happened to tour with in 2005) yet these guys probably take more musical chances than Gibbard and Co. While this band certainly enjoys flirting with their samples and loops, they rely too much on the trusty guitar (not to mention that "hot" new instrument, the glockenspiel) to really be considered (or dismissed) as "electro-pop."

Their latest album, Let's Build a Fire, is their first for the little label that could, Absolutely Kosher (The Wrens, Sunset Rubdown), and has been generating enough acclaim to warrant an international tour. No matter what else these guys do in their careers, getting paid to play your songs in Japan makes all the work worth it.

+/- play Knitting Factory on Saturday, December 2nd.