On 2015's The Show Must Go, the Chap dug into the always-emotional subject of politics. On Digital Technology, emotion itself is the concept, and the way they explore it is quintessentially Chap: Framed as a set of songs written by algorithms assimilating the skills and knowledge of "talented Europeans in 2018," the band's seventh album of surreal electro-pop plays with notions of intention, expression, and authenticity in ways that keep listeners guessing (and perhaps projecting; from moment to moment, Digital Technology's title suggests the dazzling future promised in decades past, an ominous present, or a clinical description of the tools used to make the album). Early in their career, the most prominent mood in the Chap's music was arch amusement, something that continues on "I Am the Emotion," a tongue-in-cheek putdown that rivals Sparks in its acerbic cleverness. There's also a sense of mischief lurking within the relentless, droning stomp of "Merch," which suggests AI learning how to unsettle its human test subjects, or the musical embodiment of consumerism at its most suffocating. More often, though, the Chap use their sizable wit to express existential sorrow and dread, feelings that have grown in their music since 2012's We Are Nobody. On several of Digital Technology's finest moments, they lament the lack of intimacy in a society that's more connected than ever. The parallel disillusionment and detachment within Johannes Von Weizsäcker and Claire Hope's vocals on "Hard" is remarkably poignant, as is the sudden, surprising isolation of "Help Mother"'s hook: "What happened to your friendly face?" The Chap convey this failure to communicate especially eloquently when they let their synths do the talking, or rather, their feeling. The airbrushed textures that overtake Von Weizsäcker on "Loaded Words" are as unnatural as they are lovely; "Don't Say It Like That," a study in robotic rigidity and all-too-human frustration, telegraphs its bleakness by trailing off on moody arpeggios. As on We Are Nobody and The Show Must Go, the Chap find inventive new ways to use their synthetic sounds and self-aware songwriting. Digital Technology is a fine addition to their body of work, and proves that they're growing into a more thoughtful, and more emotionally expressive, band with each album.