Founded by Andrew Endres (lap steel/bass) and Kate Kilbourne (violin/synth), with Nick Quiller on drums, the band takes an unconventional path to modern pop/R&B, building a typical beats-and-synth soundscape (with Endres singing his heart out) and periodically incorporating oddly effective melodic lines using lap steel guitar and violin. Add it all up and you get futuristic robo-pop streaked with hints of neo-classical and roots music, like a landlocked (and less shy) Frank Ocean. Bottom line: Mordecai is different, and different is good. by Ben Salmon