In a perfect world, it would rain root beer, debating the merits of campaign finance reform would be old news, and pop music would be a meritocracy. For those of you playing at home, we're 0-3. The first two are no-brainers, of course, but try as we might, listening to and evaluating the business called Show isn't nearly as objective as we'd like it to be. Every song you hear carries the weight of every other song you've ever heard, in a vast, associational web. For example, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sounds notably like Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and, if you really think hard about it, they both sound a little bit like the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane." Although "Feeling" is unapologetic, sentimental rock-schlock of the highest (or lowest) order, the two relatively quality compositions to its right and left certainly lead me to think it's awesome.

Into this bloody, bloody breach steps Joy Zipper, who unfortunately happen to sound a lot like Stereolab. Actually, that's reductive. They draw on the Beach Boys, Love, Esquivel, Krautrock, and an assortment of other influences that, when you stick them in a blender and let fly, sound a lot like Stereolab in their "'60s kitsch is cool" phase. But Joy Zipper's blend of these sounds is more straightforward and pleasant than the usual suspects'. Their self-titled debut is heavier on Brian Wilson's melodic filigree and a little less heavy on Stereolab-style droning riffs. However, that niceness ultimately works against the music, rather than for it; its kitschy familiarity lacks the propulsiveness that noise and drone lend more successful examples of this particular genre.

In fact, the practical upshot here is that Joy Zipper demonstrate the moment at which kitsch awareness ends up being kitschy in itself. Songs like "Transformation Fantasy" sound sort of retro, but in the early-'90s retro sense-- you know, like Velvet Crush. But at this current cultural moment, it seems quaint and innocent to find exotica-oriented music quaint and innocent, making Joy Zipper's rampant cheeriness seem even goofier than the first waves of retro-kitsch did at the height of their popularity.

It would be lovely to say that a pleasant evocation of pop sounds past is enough to make a record lovely. Unfortunately, the weight of familiarity and under-innovated arrangements in Joy Zipper's sound disqualify that particular outcome. But, hey, it ain't a perfect world.

-Sam Eccleston