On their first album in four years, once-polka-dotted Brit gal group the Pipettes are now a duo-plus-musicians; two of the three original singers are gone. Sonically, they've replaced theoretical Phil Spector with theoretical astro-disco, most explicitly in "Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen." But old New Wave producer Martin Rushent actually provides his own patented Eighties Wall of Sound — burbling pop-funk bass lines, Hi-NRG Eurosynths, Latin bongos, tricky Anglican harmonies. The voices can't equal, say, Bananarama's depth of feeling. But in tracks like "Captain Rhythm" — which partly suggests "Da Doo Ron Ron" on Jupiter — the Pipettes still ride the dance beat like a rocket ship.

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“Tonight's the Night”

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."