The Pipettes: We Are The Pipettes

With The Spice Girls back in action, some might argue that the world doesn't really need The Pipettes. But what a silly argument that would be! Yes, the prefab Pipettes are a bunch of pretty ladies from the UK whose catchy songs revolve around a wafer-thin girl-power theme, but the modern take on '60s-girl-group pop that they're soaked in makes it a whole lot easier for cool kids to admit to liking them. Finally on American shores more than a year after its original release, We Are The Pipettes is what Phil Spector would be making these days if he started listening to a lot of indie pop and wasn't so busy in court. Three polka-dotted women with perfectly suited voices front The Pipettes, but it's the work of mastermind Monster Bobby and the rest of the backing band that elevates these 16 nuggets far beyond the disposable pop implied by the setup. It's anyone's guess if the group itself has any kind of shelf life, but for the time being, girlie pop doesn't get much more perfect.