Well, it's been 15 minutes since I wrote my last review, and I'm still sick. But, hey, let's not dwell on my clammy palms and sick- smelling body-- rather, let's approach another album and embrace it in spite of my extreme fatigue. Y'know, kitsch is so lovable when it's done well. It really is. See, for years, we've been subjected to the nauseating cuteness of Shonen Knife, the terribly unsubtle Pizzicato Five, adorable little Cornelius, the ethnic absurdities of Cornershop and the grrl power of Cibo Matto. At the height of their popularities, these bands could out-kitsch the best of 'em, and a few of the bands even recorded great albums. But, as an esteemed colleague of mine recently observed, "The shit's got a short shelflife."

Fantastic Plastic Machine's Tomoyuki Tanaka capitalises on everything Cornelius achieved on his 1998 American debut Fantasma, but relies on human elements as much as electronic ones. Where Fantasma was unmistakably wacky and occasionally annoying, Luxury is subtle-- always focused more on the music than the humor. Tanaka writes great music, blending modern sound and technology with classic string arrangements and top- notch production. "Honolulu, Calcutta" is one of Luxury's brightest examples of this-- its sound is distinctly 1960s space-noir, with a laidback hip-hop beat that transforms it into a catchy and beautiful combination of the sounds of two eras.

The song that's got everyone's attention is the band's nice arrangement of the Eurythmics' "There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart)," but it's hardly the album's highlight. The High Llamas- ish "Bossa for Jackie," a dedication to the late Mrs. Kennedy, is a tropical breeze of melody (with a fresh, pine-sol smell); "You Must Learn All Night Long" is simply outta control with its speedfreak drum frenzy, its horn breakdown and vocoder effects; the dancy "Lotto" sounds like a head- on collision between the Pet Shop Boys and Stereolab; "MPF (Mezzo Pianoforte)" is piano- based pop, complete with samples of retro 1950s R&B; quartets singing "Oh yeah" and a crazy- assed breakdown; and Luxury's closer, the undeniably Tomita- influenced "Mr. Fantasy's Love" is an analog symphony with aged Moog effects and a singing computer.

Emperor Norton Records is quickly becoming known for its roster of kitsch artists, among them Arling and Cameron, the Zoobombs, and Takako Minekawa (who you may recognize as the girl who says "Play-sta-tion!" at the end of most Playstation game ads). Now, with the addition of Fantastic Plastic Machine to their roster, they've pretty much got a monopoly on weird. Whoo!

-Ryan Schreiber