The Pipettes: Earth Vs. The Pipettes

The Pipettes never seemed like the most organic production, coming off more like the retro-minded, polka-dotted creation of a movie director looking to fill a party scene with pretty voices sporting pretty faces. So the fact that two of the three women who helped make the UK group’s debut album are no longer in the picture doesn’t seem like a huge deal, especially since Svengali Monster Bobby is still pulling the strings, and he’s retained Welsh blonde bombshell Gwenno Saunders, who always seemed like The Pipettes’ focal point anyhow. Her sister Ani joins her for another exercise in high-energy, backward-thinking pop, and while it doesn’t contain the Postal Service-esque sounds that Gwenno once said she was creating on the side, the synth-friendly ’80s do make a few appearances on Earth Vs. The Pipettes. So do the ’70s on disco-y jams like “Call Me,” “Ain’t No Talkin’,” and “History,” all of which plow the fertile field of guys and relationships over bubblegum beats. It’s a formula that all parties involved—including producer Martin Rushent (The Human League, The Go-Go’s)—know their way around, and thus anyone with an interest in unabashed pop filtered through a sparkling-clean indie-rock lens should have no problem getting swept up in the steady stream of instantly catchy choruses.