Pop Music Review : No-Frills Bis Plumbs Both Its Dimensions With Bouncy Fun

With a cartoon soundtrack to its credit (for the Cartoon Network’s “Powerpuff Girls”), a string of releases brimming with quirky synthesizers and bastardized disco rhythms and nicknames like Sci-Fi Steven, John Disco and Manda Rin, the Scottish trio Bis is just asking to be dismissed as a campy novelty act. But the group’s music is more (just barely) than a frothy pop cocktail, and the substance (such as it is) of its tunes bubbled to the surface throughout its performance at the Roxy on Thursday.

On stage, Bis’ no-frills instrumentation--guitars, keyboards, a drum machine and occasional bass--produced a scrappy lo-fi sound, yet the songs themselves were often the crafty result of shrewdly programmed robotic rhythms and warm melodic hooks. Many selections suggested stripped-down incarnations of Devo and New Order; “Detour” revolved around a more sultry, hip-hop-inflected groove, and a couple of selections played out like perky revisions of Afrika Bambaataa’s fierce funk.

For all the energy they channeled into the music, the musicians still had enough juice to generate an infectiously festive stage presence. Audience members were frequently inspired to join the bouncing band for some rousing bouts of pogo dancing.

Ultimately, Bis’ music is a bit two-dimensional, but, bolstered by the threesome’s colorful, action-packed show, it proved dynamic enough to leave a fun, if fleeting, impression.