That ain’t no slag, either. As a former club kid - so what if my day-glo platforms came in the two-left-feet model? - and a dancer of near-legendary status within these four walls of mine, I’m a firm believer in kicking it up and not taking everything so seriously all the time. To quote the once-great Depeche Mode - quite possibly a touchstone for New Young Pony Club, I’d reckon - it’s all about making sure you get the balance right, don’t you think? (Hey, I could’ve used Wang Chung instead - “Everybody have fun tonight!” - so enough with the groans already). Sure, I like my “serious” art and my “serious” music and I can be as serious about politics as the next guy, and hell, I’ve read Chomsky and Marx and Ulysses (maybe not that one), and I can get all highbrow on your ass as the situation requires, but there’s something so gosh-darn liberating about just swaggerin’ and struttin’ around in your finest fashionista-wear to the thump ‘n' grind of the more primal, more carnal side to the sonic spectrum. And NYPC offer a perfect soundtrack for checking your pose.

Looking for a quick contemporary point of reference? First off the lips would be CSS/Cansei de Ser Sexy, no question. Both bands operate from the same platform of delivering late '70s-/early '80s-indebted dance-rock with a “look at me” attitude ideal for the fashion runway, real or imagined. (I can almost imagine all the shoe shops on Haight Street committing to an all-CSS-and-NYPC playlist, as such catwalk-ready tune-age would surely keep the customers feeling sexy.) The Young Ponies’ frontperson Tahita Bulmer bears a few similarities to CSS’s Lovefoxxx, particularly in her ability to make detachment and sarcasm sound so appealing. Then, of course, there’s the subject matter: partying. Hanging out. Checking out the scene. Looking fabulous. And plenty of pop-culture references, just to keep the kids on their toes.

Demonstration? How about the video for their first single, “Ice Cream”? Originally released in 2005, this early Duran Duran-reminiscent number has since been added to this year’s debut, Fantastic Playroom (Universal/Island). How do NYPC stay so fit, you ask? Oh, sticky gooey delights, of course! Hmmm, anyone got any chocolate?

Luckily, “Ice Cream” wasn’t just a fluke. Fantastic Playroom maintains that same level of playfulness and irreverence over the course of its 40 minutes, never veering too far from its, er, manifesto. Echoes of another fun-lovin’ gang, ESG, pop up here and there, along with bits of New Order, Blondie, the aforementioned Durannies, and occasionally, even, 1979 Manifesto-era Roxy Music. (Coincidence? Who can say, but scope out Fantastic Playroom’s cover and tell me that glammerific shot doesn’t cop a preen or two from this famous Roxy pic from their early years. Compare.)

“Tight Fit” is currently the go-to source I keep in mind when I’m looking for something Madonna-esque without actually listening to Madonna: its reappropriated disco reminds me of moments from her Music and Confessions on a Dance Floor albums (both Warner Bros.). Or maybe even Luscious Jackson, thanks to its authoritative bass rumble and street-strutting cries of “I’ve got to get into it!,” which feel very Gabby-and-Jill in spirit. Then there’s “Grey," a delicious piece of minimalist funk with a rhythm best described as a handclap-fiesta, along with an expressively warbly New Order-inspired bass interlude that still widens my smile after I-don’t-know-how-many-listens. “It’s all right as long as it’s black and white / except when they’re grey,” Tahita sing-sneers over an almost ridiculously rudimentary keyboard line. Can’t argue that.

Wanting more rock action? I’ll leave you, then, with the video for “The Bomb” - how very Mark Goodman/Martha Quinn-era MTV! Is that the set from the Flock of Seagulls video? Kidding.

New Young Pony Club will be playing Monday, Oct. 29, 9 p.m., at Mezzanine. Tickets are $15, so get out there and get slinky.