No, this isn't a rerun, but almost. Just months after their self-titled debut on Kindercore, sugary-sweet West coast popsters Call and Response have released essentially the same album on Emperor Norton. But before you can ask, "Why is this necessary," let me explain that the album has two more songs on it this time around, and the songs have been re-sequenced for a smoother listening experience. Plus, nearly the whole shebang has been re-mixed by Mickey Petralia, who's probably best known for producing the Butthole Surfers' Electriclarryland and Beck's Midnite Vultures.

Okay, now you can ask, "Why is this necessary?"

Well, to be cynical, it's necessary because what was already ultra-catchy, bouncy, super-whitebread, honky-lips funk-pop has received an extra coat of gloss in a bid for a cameo spot on the upcoming season of "Felicity" or the next 80s retro flick starring Janeane Garofalo. And if that isn't enough for you, well, good.

But to fair (and I have no idea if this is what they were gunning for, but I'm guessing no), this album is pretty depressing, precisely because it's so naively bright and rosy. You wish things were as great as this album makes them out to be-- that everything could be about "Blowin' Bubbles," "Rollerskating," and pre-disappointment school crushes. But those days are over, right? You're bruised and jaded now, and this reminder only comes as some sorta ironically perverse jab in the ribs.

It reminds me of when, after years of sleeping in, I woke up early on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons, hoping to catch old friends like Foghorn Leghorn and Daffy Duck, only to find out they don't show cartoons on Saturday morning much anymore. They've all been replaced with teen soap-coms, the hideous bastard genre jumpstarted by Saved by the Bell.

Oh, yeah, the album. If you happened to miss Call and Response the first time around, here's the gist of it: they're a five-piece whose calling card is slick boy/girl harmonies. Such dubious influences as the Lovin' Spoonful, the Mamas and the Papas, and the Archies offer a distinctly American slant to the Swed-core lineage of ABBA, Ace of Base, and most notably in Call and Response's case, Roxette and the Cardigans. Like most candy floss-pop, what's interesting here isn't the songs or the playing. It could be anyone (and probably is) playing anything. What's interesting is how a producer, engineer, or mixer can create a perfect machine for planting a melody firmly in your skull. And if that whole process is what gets you excited, here's twelve great subjects to dissect: two more than the original, and twice as sweet.

Or maybe this will do the trick: "You've got to know how to stop when you do the bunny hop," from "Rollerskate." What more can I say? The choice is obvious. You need both versions. Let your record collector geekdom take over. You'd do it for the Locust.

-Jason Nickey, October 30th, 2001