by LORRAINE CARPENTER

"I'm still hung over from yesterday, so my answers are probably really bad," warns Fredrik Saroea, half of prankster synthpunk sensation Datarock. "The thing is," he continues, "have you ever seen Revenge of the Nerds?"

Bergen, Norway, aka "the city of seven mountains," pop. 250,000, home of Royksopp, Kings of Convenience and Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band, is thick with Datarockers. Apart from the trio we'll see when the band makes its North American debut in Montreal, namely core members Saroea and Ketil Mosnes, and keyboardist Stig Narve Brunstad, Datarock has a small army of supporting players, as seen doing aerobics, singing in a men's choir or performing as a brass band on stages across Europe. Calling their act "the peak of pop evolution," Datarock brings us laughter and tears, hardcore guitars and Kraftwerkian beats, Bee Gees harmonies and lyrics about Dubya's pubes, all in one neat five-song EP, Computer Camp Love.

"Don't tell anyone, but the whole first verse [of the title track], I just ripped off dialogue from Revenge of the Nerds," confides Saroea. "I've seen this picture, like, 50 times - I don't know why."

Though there's plenty of camp in Datarock's world, the song is less about kitsch than a favourite pastime of Norwegian kids. "It's a love story that takes place in one of those gatherings where a few thousand kids go to an arena and spend a week playing computer games, drinking Coca-Cola and eating chips. They're the biggest gatherings in Norway. It's a weird concept though, isn't it? It's kids going to camp, but instead of going into the forest and hurting their fingers or falling in a river or making sweet, passionate puppy love, they're sitting there chatting with another kid sitting two metres away."

It's only a matter of time before computer-camp nostalgia hits, but Saroea, 28, likes to infuse his lyrics with references to the proto-PCs and primordial Apples of his childhood. "We sing about Commodore 64, the first computer I owned," he says. "Actually, I went straight from a Commodore 64 to a G4 Powerbook. There was nothing in between at all - but don't tell anyone."

With We Are Wolves and Statue Park at
Main Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 8 p.m., $8

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