Clemens Denk, here in solo form (and not with a full band, as in recently released LP Clemens Band Denk), is disarmingly direct on “Leider.” Like fellow Totally Wired artist Ana Threat, Denk seems keen on cheekily reducing genre to tacky syrup. His synth pop is a shrug, an uncomfortable, flat-lining pulse of kitsch.

On “Need a Kiss,” he pouts with Eddie Argos’ emphasized affectation, stilted and stiff. What lyrically and stylistically should be a glittered lament, a crying out to be touched complete with a swelling chorus, is instead a reading of the phone book. Instrumental “Der Alte Vertreter” is similarly incongruous. It evokes a Nintendo composer, drunk and alone in skid-marked briefs, slapping buttons and keys meant to condition children with a jingle reward of happy consonance.

Both sides put a brick through breezy 80s rehash synth sheen.