The eleven '80s-era bands BART: Bay Area Retrograde include Voice Farm and Wasp Women.

GUARDIAN PHOTO

As the underbelly of an underground dominated in the retelling by figures like Chrome, Flipper, and The Residents, BART's new audience lives in a skewed world, where technology provides us with nearly endless opportunities to connect, where analog synths are revered for their warmth and character, and where the Mission is gentrified. Yet faced with an excess of information every time we make a decision, the rough edges of this serious, cynical music offer opportunities to disconnect from the endless demands of the present. The past will always have the advantage of seeming coherent, but BART's biggest success is in the way it captures the innovative, corrosive energy of its time. * *