Pipettes @ The Garage Review
capture the excitement that many hip bands seek and lack.<br/>
Thundering drums announce their arrival: while the Glasgow crowd is too cool to dance in wild abandon, the Pipettes' recreation of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound is concise and joyous. One night stands, the playground bully, first love and self-assertion are celebrated with dazzling harmonies and bouncing pop melodies. With their short songs, sketchy dance routines and child-like lyrics, the Pipettes capture the excitement that many hip bands seek and lack.
Their format is charmingly predictable: no excess, driving rhythms, simple emotions and pleasures captured in bursts of positive energy. By sheer personality, they lend depth to the trivial. The accusation that they are derivative misses the point. The Pipettes are playful, ecstatic fun.
A sensibly short set leaves the crowd hoping for more, but the strategy is clear. The Pipettes take the enthusiasm of 1960s' pop and infuse a post-modern sensibility: poignant but not dour, witty yet never vacant. [Gareth K Vile]