A fun one. Russ reviewed my choice of Scott Walker's The Drift, which he didn't enjoy but did respect. I reviewed his choice of The Pipetes, and I...well, read on...
THE PIPETTES – WE ARE THE PIPETTES, Memphis Industries
Russell and I have decided to review each other’s alums this issue. Please do not search for a reason. We are merely seeking to stave off the ennui of existence. That means I’m reviewing an album I’ve never heard, though the act name rang a bell. It’s a good name, isn’t it? Conjuring 60s girl groups and Spector-stable teenpop, but also sounding like a band made up of science teachers (reminds me that I’ve always thought that a great name for a band of off-duty middle managers is The Lanyards). The sound matches the name, being plasticky B-52s neo-trash garage with a girly punk edge - think “Shampoo are in the sixth form now”. The opening pairing of ‘We Are The Pipettes’ and ‘Pull Shapes’ is winning and frothy, and ‘Why Did You Stay?’ adds a little more substance, with grown-up strings, some vintage Cliff guitar and a few ‘Leader of the Pack’ backing vocals. ‘Dirty Mind’ is a little generic, though, and most notable for threatening to go into Maxine Nightingale’s ‘Right Back Where We Started From’.
‘Judy’ is a highlight, a mid-80s Shakin’ Stevens song with some Grange Hill lyrics. It’s not a huge step away from Pulp, with the lyrics retelling a kitchen-sink microdrama. However there are a couple of tracks like ‘A Winter’s Sky’ on the album that are kind of forgettable; the trouble with pasticheing these 60s girl groups is that they usually had absolutely smoking vocals, whereas The Pipettes, for all their charm, are more Bananarama than The Supremes when it comes to vocal chops. And this means the tunes have to be top notch to stand out, whereas ‘Tell Me What You Want’s is merely fine, sounding like a late-80s Phil Collins number (it’s those strings) I’d much rather have the ‘Hey, Mickey’ steal that is ‘Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me’ any day.
I’m listening on YouTube, which is not normal for me as a hard-media evangelist – Jesus, the adverts – but it does mean that I can tell that ‘Because It’s Not Love (But It’s Still A Feeling)’ was a single, as there’s a video to watch. The tune is a nice soda-pop hop, with handclaps and everything, and the visuals are bright and cheerful, even if they look like an unadventurous Eurovision staging from 2014 (I think it’s the strange box the girls keep getting in). Suitably for a single it has the richest vocals so far on the album, with some pleasing harmonies.
‘Sex’ is less fun that the name threatens, but ‘One Night Stand’ is more bouncily enjoyable, and at 1.40 is a perfect length for music of this sort (insert joke about average length of sexual encounters here). Ooh, ‘ABC’ is another single. But it misses a trick by animating the band members rather than capturing their natural charm - seriously this looks like the credits of some knock-off Channel 5 version of Eurotrash which doesn’t have any rude bits. The song is decent and sprightly, despite having an awkward line in the chorus that is at least a syllable too long, but calling your throwback teen-pop song ‘ABC’ is tempting fate considering that’s one of the true greats: might as well call it ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ or ‘Beethoven’s 9th'. Oh, wait, is it the end of the LP already? ‘I Love You’ is rather sweet, and then we’re done. Well, that was most enjoyable. Perhaps there were about three tracks that felt inessential, but it’s hardly the first album I can say that about, and considering only one track here breaks the three-minute mark, these missteps don’t last long. Nice one, Russ, thanks for the recommendation, good unpretentious pop music. I’m off to buy a pencil case I so I can write the band’s name on it in biro.
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