Earth vs. the Pipettes
On their first album in four years, once-polka-dotted Brit gal group the Pipettes are now a duo-plus-musicians; two of the three original singers are gone. Sonically, they’ve replaced theoretical Phil Spector with theoretical astro-disco, most explicitly in “Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen.” But old New Wave producer Martin Rushent actually provides his own patented Eighties Wall of Sound — burbling pop-funk bass lines, Hi-NRG Eurosynths, Latin bongos, tricky Anglican harmonies. The voices can’t equal, say, Bananarama’s depth of feeling. But in tracks like “Captain Rhythm” — which partly suggests “Da Doo Ron Ron” on Jupiter — the Pipettes still ride the dance beat like a rocket ship.