Alan Sculley

Craig Pfunder may have been on the phone for an interview, but you could almost hear him smile at the suggestion that his band, VHS Or Beta, had made a new CD influenced as much by classic pop as any musical style.

Fans of the first two VHS Or Beta CDs may not welcome that comment. They know what it signals: musical departure.

And that's exactly what the latest VHS Or Beta CD, "Bring on the Comets," represents.

The group's first two CDs, 2002's "Le Funk" and 2004's "Night on Fire," featured a dance-oriented pop sound that earned VHS Or Beta -- appearing Tuesday at Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City -- a reputation as '80s dance pop revivalists. That description doesn't apply to "Bring on the Comets."

But as Pfunder also noted, his musical interests have long extended far beyond dance music.

In fact, when the Louisville-based group started out in 1997, its sound was more akin to the noise pop of Sonic Youth than New Order or Duran Duran.

"Bring on the Comets" sounds like none of these groups. But those who have a taste for frisky pop will probably like what the new CD has to offer. Many of the songs are still danceable, but the emphasis is clearly more on pop hooks than groove.

The shift in direction, Pfunder acknowledged, was motivated not only by the group's affection for pop music, but by a desire to readjust the musical identity of VHS Or Beta and allow the group to continue in the future to step outside of outside expectations.

"I feel like [in the past] as a band, VHS Or Beta always has been shooting toward a certain specific sort of sound or a genre of music," he said. "And it kind of tailors itself toward a certain type of audience. A lot of people view that dance music as kind of lifestyle music ... I don't think I was concerned [on 'Comets'] as much about writing a record for a certain group of people. I wanted to write, first of all, what came naturally and felt truthful and real.

"We're trying to do things that allow us to feel free as musicians to not always have to feel like we have to play a certain type of music -- within reason," Pfunder said. "I don't think we're going to make like a country dance record."

In creating "Bring on the Comets" and redefining its sound, the group made a major change in its writing process.

On past records, songs began during jam sessions, and would get refined and would be a true collaboration by all involved. But bassist Mark Palgy and drummer Mark Guidry stepped back for "Bring on the Comets" and let Pfunder become the main songwriter.

"They invested a lot of faith and trust in me," Pfunder said. "I think it was very noble of them to kind of like let go of some of the control and let me go off in my own little world and write some songs for the band."

Part of the reason for the change in the creative process was the departure of guitarist Zeke Buck, which changed the dynamic that had previously existed.

"When we got rid of Zeke, we started writing again as a three-piece and just felt uncomfortable because we had been so used to having two guitars in the room," Pfunder said, noting that his move into the role of chief songwriter evolved naturally as each band member began writing on his own.

As much as Pfunder is proud of "Bring on the Comets," he said VHS Or Beta is diversifying its live set after heavily emphasizing material from the current CD on its initial run of dates.

"We're adding songs from 'Le Funk' and more songs from 'Night on Fire' as well as 'Comets,' " Pfunder said. "I think for some of our older fans, there was a little frustration like, why are you playing a lot of the new songs?

"When we tell them we're going to play, I think they really hope we're going to play some of the old stuff," he said. "So we're really looking forward to giving that back to them and introducing people who have just found out about us to a lot of our other material. Hopefully they'll like it all."