Editor’s Note: In Sound Advice, the first Friday of every month, veteran BDN entertainment writer Dale McGarrigle and former British music-press writer Adam Corrigan, rock columnist Emily Burnham and a revolving stable of BDN writers review new albums from across the musical spectrum.

“Times of Romance” (Cherrytree/Interscope) – The Lovemakers

One of music’s virtues is that it can transport the listener to another time.

The Lovemakers’ debut album is a time machine back to such early ’80s new wave synth-pop bands as The Human League, Soft Cell, A Flock of Seagulls and Berlin. It was a time when fledgling MTV actually showed videos.

The San Francisco Bay area trio seems to have taken as its mantra the lyrics from another ’80s one-hit wonder, Men Without Hats: “We can act like we come from out of this world / Leave the real one far behind / And we can dance.”

Bassist-vocalist Lisa Light, guitarist Scott Blonde and keyboardist Jason Proctor are best known for their provocative live shows. Yet their pulsating electronic sound has been successfully captured on “Times of Romance.”

The trio worships at the altar of the Poet of Paisley Park, and this Prince fixation informs such songs as “Is It Alright?” “Shake That Ass” and “We Should Be Taking Our Clothes Off.” There’s nothing particularly profound here lyrically in these meditations on relationships and clubbing, but you hardly notice, because everything here has a good beat, and you can dance to it. – Dale McGarrigle

“You Could Have It So Much Better” (Domino) – Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand gets lumped in with the other “dance rock” torchbearers of the day – The Killers, The Bravery, The Rapture and other bands with “the” in their names. And that was partially correct, as their debut self-titled album was a brash mixture of punk guitar and new wave-inspired dance rhythms.

But listening to their sophomore release, “You Could Have It So Much Better,” one finds that they aren’t just another band of well-dressed young lads using disco beats to sell records. What you hear is one of the best pop albums of the year.

Like their predecessors in bands such as the Beatles and the Buzzcocks, Franz Ferdinand could churn out a smash single in their sleep. It’s pop, pure and simple – from the frothy glam-rock swagger of album-opener, “The Fallen,” to the best Kinks song Ray Davies never recorded, “Eleanor Put Your Boots On.”

Guitarist Nick McCarthy seems to love the reverb-soaked, spy guitar style of playing, while singer and indie rock heartthrob Alex Kapranos evokes classic Bowie and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. The Glaswegian foursome aren’t saying anything deep or meaningful with “You Could Have It So Much Better.” They’re just knocking their breezy, cheeky rock straight out of the park, winning the hearts of music fans on both side of the Atlantic. In truth, you really couldn’t have it all that much better than that. – Emily Burnham

“Unwritten” (Epic) – Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Bedingfield certainly has things in common with current hipsters’ darling M.I.A. Both have South London upbringings. Both are in the process of attempting to conquer the United States. Both are attractive female humans. But there the similarities end.

Where M.I.A. oozes sass and smart, occasionally provocative lyrics, Bedingfield wears a flat cap and, on smash single “These Words,” “Read some Byron, Shelley and Keats / Recited it over a hip-hop beat.” It’s a shame this plan didn’t work out, as it may have produced a more enjoyable album than “Unwritten.”

“Unwritten” is pure Teflon pop music that lazily veers from the saccharin title track, through a comically overblown “Peace of Me,” to the risible “attitude” of “If You’re Gonna.” “If you’re gonna jump, jump far / Fly like a skydiver,” she orders, before rhyming this with race car, Chihuahua, diva, guitar, and “um and aah.”

Still, here’s my prediction: “Unwritten” will do pretty well over here in the States. It’s already triple platinum in the U.K., she’s had a stack of industry award nominations, and there’s the sexy whiff of a new pop dynasty here, since Natasha and her brother Daniel are the only brother and sister ever to both have No. 1 records in the U.K.

Oh yes, this will sell just fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. – Adam Corrigan