White Williams’ debut Smoke is an ambitious electronic album in the vein of Brian Eno’s early solo work and that of New York no wave pioneer Arthur Russel. At times “Smoke” feels cold and computerized, but a real organic pop sensibility flows through the best tracks, a characteristic that becomes even more essential when the album is performed live.

Part of the brilliance behind a Nine Inch Nails live show is the extra dimensions they add to their recorded songs; the band is forced to translate material previously programmed on computer into guitar, bass and drums. For their show, White Williams go through a similar process and, for the most part, manages to achieve that ever elusive synthesis of live electronic music. Don’t take this for granted. Many excellent acts, like Black Dice, have yet to successfully turn their records into engaging live performances.

Wisely, the band chose to highlight their more melodic, pop oriented, songs. “Going Down” felt looser with live drums, and a whole new layer of guitar was added to “Route To Palm,” giving it a shoegaze feel. “New Violence,” the album’s poppiest, most danceable, track, looses a good deal of its electronic backbone in favor of post-punk rhythm. Essentially, though, White Williams live offers a new perspective on an already excellent album, which is what a successful live performance is all about.