COMPULSIVELY CLEAN

The post-disco assimilation of “dance music” perhaps made inevitable what is finally coming to fruition today: a rash of bands in which the bass player is the lead instrumentalist.

That’s certainly the case with Level 42, a band currently in the Top 10, which made its local debut Friday at the sold-out Roxy. Singer-bassist Mark King put that taped-up thumb to work at every instrumental break, finding a far more prominent spot in the mix than the overly polite guitar, synthesizer or sax.

Otherwise, the most remarkable thing about the tight and compulsively clean grooves was how closely the mix of pop, funk and fusion from this hot British combo resembled the sort of thing session players from North Hollywood put together in their spare time.