In the past few years, the electro-pop that ruled the late ‘80s has been making a comeback. For better or worse, this trend has continued into 2011 with groups putting their own spin on the genre, except with an indie edge. Adventure’s new album, Lesser Known is one of these.

Adventure’s acclaimed debut album was released in 2008, and was avant-garde, having barely any vocals (unless you count clips from the 1982 film, Bladerunner) and the music was predominantly on synth sounds. On the follow-up, Benny Boeldt, the brainchild of Adventure, has brightened the tone of the album and has expanded his sound from the video-game inspired tone of his first record to the previously mentioned, late ‘80s electro-pop.

Though the sound is hardly unique, Lesser Known is still a good listen. Boeldt has taken some more chances on this record and musically, the record sounds more like New Order than Sonic the Hedgehog. The vocals work well with the music and make you wonder why he didn’t include them on his debut. The tempo of tracks like “Fools Paradise” “Another World” and “Rio” are very upbeat and the sound has good rhythm and you can’t help but nod your head along to the music.

Synths make up the bulk of the sound and unlike many albums featuring the instrument they aren’t overwhelming or annoying. Songs like “Lights Out” and “Electric Eel” threaten that notion by going a bit over the top with it’s industrial sound, but otherwise, the synths make you feel like you are in a futuristic disco with the strobe lights illuminating the room.

Like the groups that emerged from the Madchester craze, Adventure’s sound is, well, quite adventurous. The progression of his style has upgraded from an 8-bit Sega to a Dreamcast. Though he has made progress in diversifying his sound, the Baltimore-based outfit has a lot of potential for growth and the sky is the limit if Boeldt builds off the foundation he laid with Lesser Known.