Wanderlust

Album Review

This Toronto duo betrays a perpetual zest. Immediately invigorating singer Julie Park sounds like a dead ringer for Echobelly's Sonya Madan without the smugness (she seems nicer), with hints of the young Plastic Letters-era Debbie Harry and Alison's Halo's Katherine. The music, though, is much more a marriage of the later Lush's mature pop circa Lovelife (like Velocette's LP, Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson seem a prime influence here) plus Ivy's more bouncy tracks than any new wave, shoegaze, or cocktail music. Park and partner Daniel Barida's songs are immediately disarming and never lack substance, especially when, as on "Out of Sight" and "Elastic," they inject a little grit to the guitars. Their rhythms are always danceable if never too reliant on that base, with a groovy get-and-go. A few songs, such as "White Flag," even shell out a shot of drama like Lush excelled at. If Chicklet do that more consistently, one could easily see them becoming an underground favorite on par with such pleasures. (920 E. Colorado Blvd., #151, Pasadena, CA 91106; www.satelliterecords.net) ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide