For Minneapolis to NYC transplants Strange Names the last three years have been those characterized by upward momentum and discovery, momentum wrought largely from a record deal with Syd Butler’s (of NYC art punks Les Savy Fav) label Frenchkiss, the success of their debut album –2015’s shimmering pop tour-de-force Use Your Time Wisely –and countless time clocked in front of audiences sharpening the strength of their exuberant live performance. Now, preceding the release of their inspired and thematic forthcoming sophomore LP Data (out February 23rd , 2018 on Frenchkiss), it’s clear that this momentum is only primed to build further.  Use Your Time Wisely established the band—made up of Liam Benzvi, Francis Ximénez and Fletcher Aleckson—as creators and performers of buoyant and masterful pop songs, songs that were relatable in the ubiquity of their subject matter but also in their fine-spun reverence to precursory (and magnificently danceable) New Wave greats like The B-52's , Talking Heads and The Fixx. Tracks like “Ricochet”, “Neighborhood” and “I Can’t Control Myself” came to wholly define this spirited, endearingly off-kilter energy and helped bolster their profile.  On Data these definitive sonic tendencies remain in their purest form, but the soul of the record emerges distinctively amidst a newfound sense of exploration, in both sounds and motif, that bring to light Strange Names’ most daring and realized music to date.