Jason Wann has been a Portland (Ore.) based DJ for quite a while. Listening to this set, it's clear what he likes: clean melodies, female vocals and warm, poppy electronic beats. Simple, right?

Sines A Series of Moments (self-released)

Not so fast. He engages so many different sounds and vocalists that they seem to spin by in a blur. Yeah, he keeps that 80s synth always at hand, but the elements in and around that jump around with alacrity. Turns out all he's really trying to do is craft brutally catchy pop songs.

So you can get one track that sounds eerily like Madonna singing a New Order song, and another that bathes house beats and bass in sunshine. Do these choices make sense? Not always in the abstract, but Wann's production turns even the more unusual meanders into inviting hooks and almost criminally addictive songs.

Admittedly, this probably goes down easiest for someone who actually heard the influences in their original habitat. Hearing well-travelled sounds repurposed into a shiny, modern package does bring a bit of a thrill. Mostly, though, it's the way these songs burrow straight into the pleasure centers. Which is exactly what great pop music can do. Earworms of the highest order.

Jon Worley