The Pipettes: We Are The Pipettes : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

America always loves a bit of fake English Motown, from George Michael and Banana-rama to Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson. But the Pipettes have none of Winehouse’s soul aspirations --just better songs and more sex. These three cheeky hair-hoppers dress the part: Gwenno is the brittle blonde, RiotBecki is the punk rocker, and Rosay is the pheromone-scrambling brunet vamp. On their long-delayed U.S. debut, the Pipettes get their polka-dotted knickers in a twist over schoolboys (“Dance and Boogie”), give suitors the slip (“Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me”), pine over crushes (“It Hurts to See You Dance So Well”) and celebrate girliness for its own sake (“We Are the Pipettes”). As for the ballads --there aren’t any! Mean, moody and magnificent, the Pipettes hit girl-group heaven in the disco surge of “Pull Shapes”-- over fake strings and hand claps, they drag their latest pretty boy to the dance floor where hearts are won and lost.