Outer space.

Can those words ever again elicit the sense of wonder and possibility they did, long ago, during the last century? Because let's face it, in this futuristic world of 2011, space has become humdrum. The final frontier has been pacified, gentrified and Disneyfied. We look up to distant star systems and wonder only if they have a Starbucks yet.

But let's time-travel back a few decades. To a time before we were sharing our iTunes libraries with users in the overcrowded lunar colonies and Facebook-friending the gaseous inhabitants of Jupiter. Space was dark, dangerous, and exciting. It was full of death, drama, and romance. Space, if you can believe it, actually rocked.

With their third album, Spark, Chop Chop returns to the days when space was the setting for many an epic adventure or romance, and celebrated in a wonderful genre of literature and film called science fiction. Featuring 9 new tracks, The Spark tells the story of Carolyn, a 17-year-old Earth girl who is kidnapped by aliens and replaced with a devious shapeshifter. Forced to undergo cruel experiments which eventually turn her cyborg, Carolyn is rescued by a star captain with royal ties, and the two fall in love. Using enhanced intellect and new cyborg powers, Carolyn must then train a band of rebels for an epic battle to save Earth.

The Spark was produced and recorded by Chop Chop in Los Angeles. The album was mixed by Charles Newman, who has worked with Magnetic Fields, AM, Soko, Gospel Music, and Black Kids.

About Chop Chop

Chop Chop is composed of Catherine Cavanagh and some space dust of an unknown extraterrestrial origin (Jason Tajima and Justin Alabart). Chop Chop has been featured on NPR's "Survey of Women in Music" and "Second Stage." Two of their songs (and a band poster!) have been featured on the CBS comedy series How I Met Your Mother.

What some other people have said about Chop Chop

"The Spark is space opera for people who love space but hate opera. A beautiful collision of sci-fi and electropop, Chop Chop rocks like an asteroid belt." - Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man, Lost

"There is more than one way to do electro-pop, but there is only one way to do it right. Los Angeles (via Boston) group Chop Chop fall into both the former and latter, mixing up its approaches to the genre but virtually nailing it, track after track" - Eugene Weekly

"Cavanagh does things with her voice that will make grown men weak in the knees, singing about the minutiae of memory and thought, stark and naked in her honesty but wry and witty nonetheless..."Screens" over its duration manages to be serious and playful, challenging and engaging, and it´s a very exciting record that showcases a genuinely original talent."- American UK

"Chop Chop is a truly inspired affair, raw in its approach and pure in its intent, a must- have for any fan of indie music with a distinct personality."- Regen Magazine

"...melodic, quirky, and highly likeable..." - Popmatters