Death By Chocolate
Zap The World
(Jetset)
I honestly think that if Angie Tillett were American, there's no way that she'd have a record contract. Oh sure, I thought that her debut, self-titled release was fun enough, a silly little batch of songs that were mainly a showcase for her cute accent and the way that she pronounced certain words. The explanation I've heard people give for voices and singers that they really enjoy is that they could listen to them doing something as mundane as reading from a telephone book, and Tilley nearly did just that, reciting recipes on the first disc and even having one song where she simply went through the alphabet and said one word that started with each letter.
Well, she's back again, and if you wondered whether her second album would find her changing up her style at all or expanding on her sound, let me be the first to tell you that she doesn't. In fact, it's basically more of the same, and there's even a sequel to the aforementioned "A B & C" (this time called "A B & C Part Two" natch). There are more tracks about food ("Cinammon Grahams"), cars ("Bentley Corniche") and clothes ("Lime Green Fitted Blouse (with Rounded Collar & Puce Cuffs)").
Of course, if you enjoyed the first disc, you'll probably gobble this disc up again, as it's full of the same sort of simple, psychedelic pop that comprised the music for her last disc. For the most part, it all goes by in a flash (only a couple of the 16 tracks on the disc run over 2 and a half minutes), and although there are plenty of hummable melodies, they're the equivalent of cotton candy and melt away pretty much right after the disc has stopped spinning. Like her last release, the best tracks on the disc are actually the ones in which the spoken-word vocals are eschewed in favor of actual singing. "While I'm Still Young" bops along with a nice guitar melody and male background vocals while Tilley shows that she has a pretty decent voice.
I guess it's sort of fitting that this disc is being released at nearly the same time the sequel to Austin Powers is coming out. Musically, this disc references nearly everything that's 'groovy,' and the kitsch level is through the roof. As a carefree summer release, there are much worse things that you could probably be listening to, but you also might find yourself choking on the sugary-sweetness of it all.
Rating: 5.25
