Tango vibe takes step to the raucous side

Lighted by silvery beams as they played their instruments with almost robotic restraint, members of the Paris-based Gotan Project looked like characters from an old monochrome movie -- distant and nostalgic.

Indeed, there was something undeniably old-fashioned about much of Gotan Project’s more than 90-minute set Monday at the Henry Ford Theatre -- which is odd, because the band’s main conceit is its cutting-edge sonics: fusing the virile vibe of Argentine tango with down-tempo electronica.

Why does Gotan sound so dated then? First, its elegant soundscapes tend to become dangerously static after a couple of tunes.

The septet’s sound is also tied to the power of the bandoneon -- an accordion-like instrument whose stately melancholy remains unchanged, no matter the musical context.

Gotan deserves credit for pioneering the electro-tango genre in the late-’90s.

But it has been joined by a number of similar-minded competitors, including the vastly superior Bajofondo Tango Club.

Gotan’s performance came to life halfway through Monday’s concert when the band, after lifting a transparent screen that had been used to project abstract images, gave free reign to its more raucous side -- a propulsive combination of bittersweet textures informed by fiery touches of violin, thorny piano lines and the occasional presence of a sultry female vocalist.

Moving away from the tango, the group ventured into Argentine folklore by intertwining a rootsy rhythm reminiscent of the traditional chacarera with funky artificial beats.

This daring showed that Gotan may overcome the repetitiveness that limited its ability to go beyond its original creation.