We Are the Pipettes

Personnel: Monster Bobby (guitar).
Audio Mixers: Gareth Parton; Andy Dragazis.
Recording information: Concrete Island; The Fortress.
Photographer: Mel Bles.
Taking the prefabricated elements of the 1960s girl-group concept to their post-modern extreme, Brighton, England's Pipettes revel in the choreographed bubblegum-and-bouffant chic of groups like the Ronettes and the Shangri-Las, but also maintain an electro-pop sheen that places them squarely in the new millennium. The group's 2006 debut, WE ARE THE PIPETTES, could easily be called a gimmick if not for the group's mastery of what is ultimately the key element of the girl-group aesthetic--gloriously catchy pop tunes. While songs like "Pull Shapes" and "Judy" lack the palpable emotionalism of the best of the original groups, they possess a nostalgic twinkle and a cheeky attitude that are almost impossible to dismiss.