We are the Pipettes

THE PIPETTES

Cherrytree/Interscope

Charming, smart and sexy, The Pipettes are a near-perfect pop package. The British trio’s debut album, We Are The Pipettes, is 16 tiny tracks (only one clocks in at over three minutes) of blissed-out subversion. The sonics are pure sweetness: shimmering vocal harmonies; soaring string symphonies that hark back to 1960s girl groups; and bouncy, synth-y numbers that recall the music of early ‘80s acts like the Go-Go’s.

The Pipettes’ appeal, though, has as much to do with their songwriting chops as it does the spot-on work of producers Andy Dragazis and Gareth Parton. The Pipettes’ Gwenno, Riotbecki and Rosay split the songwriting credit, so its unclear if one or all three members contribute to the lyrics, which read like feminist send-ups of the ‘60s girl group lines about subservience and devotion that were often penned by horny men.

Check out the cheeky fun The Pipettes have with ditties like “One Night Stand” and the album’s lead single “Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me.”

But my favorite, the song that sold me on this group months ago when I found the tune posted on their MySpace page and wrote it up as a recommended Download, is “Judy.”

Less than three minutes long, the song manages to tell a poignant tale that’s the pop equivalent of a John Hughes flick. Judy, the popular mean girl in high school, is taught the meaning of friendship by the singer, who sounds as irresistible as Molly Ringwald’s character acted in The Breakfast Club.

4 stars

This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2007.