You can say something for Chromeo’s latest album that it’s hard to say of most records: the cover art does a fantastic job of communicating what’s inside.  Their second album, 2007’s Fancy Footwork, showed Montreal electrofunkers Dave 1 and P-Thugg playing synthesizers mounted on bare womens’ legs.  While the duo still grace the cover of Business Casual (out last month), the sexy lady has acquired both stockings and a body – even if she still lacks a face.  That’s Business Casual in a nutshell – the same funky beats and self-absorbed melodramatic male characters, but with a new layer of… it’s not quite sophistication, but perhaps “maturity” will do.

Though Chromeo have sanded off some of their more interesting edges – gone are Dave 1′s phone conversations and P-Thugg’s more assertive talk-box intrusions – Business Casual puts them on a clear upward trajectory.  The short version is: If you liked Fancy Footwork, you’ll like Business Casual just a little bit more.  If you’re new to Chromeo and looking for some electronica with a minimum of beeps and boops and some funk with a heart of nerdy gold, this album’s for you (and if you like it, there’s a back catalog with sharper angles where that came from).

Chromeo’s beats remain solid and infectious, and where the swooping techno majesty of “Tenderoni” is not quite to be found on this record, some other touches more than make up for it.  The 80′s rock power chords that stud “Night by Night” spice up that track, a fitting accompaniment to its character’s blissful obliviousness.  On that track and others, the tight handoffs between Dave 1′s occasionally falsetto vocals and P-Thugg’s electronic growls underscore the most poignant lyrics.  You’re not listening to Chromeo for the lyrics, but it doesn’t hurt that their romantic dramas seem a little less hopeless.  They’ve certainly mastered the slow burn: “Don’t Turn the Lights On” layers beats until Dave 1 is shadowing himself with its titular refrain (“don’t turn the lights on/ ’cause tonight I want to see you in the dark”), a more tender erotic pose than most of Fancy Footwork (if not as entertainingly seductive as that album’s langorous “100%”).

Chromeo might not kick out the jams quite as fiercely here, but it’s more consistent; the one French song that’s been a fixture of each album (“J’ai Claque’ la Porte”, a subdued and measured ode that only underscores its bittersweet lyrics) hardly feels out of place.  And they’re still watching their footwork – the occasional stutter, throat-clearing, or aside give the album a feel of growing self-awareness.  I haven’t made my peace with the strange spoken vocals in “Hot Mess,” but that track sets the tone for an album of funky love songs that start to see their love affairs through the other’s eyes.  Have Chromeo given up some of their earlier edge?  It’s hard to say.  Dave 1′s crooning over P-Thugg’s beats is still a tight combination.  This album is a fine stop on the way to wherever they’re going; their endearingly intent and frequently oblivious characters were fine for early albums, but they seem to acknowledge the need for more in the snappy, zig-zagging closing track:”if we can’t be grown-ups/ then we won’t grow up.”