It's easy to see how people could find Land of the Loops nauseating. Alan Sutherland's melodies are as cute and sweet as a glitter-speckled marshmallow bunny, and his warm, gurgly synthesizer lines are among the cuddliest machine noises in recorded history. For more cynical types, getting snug as a bug with Land of the Loops is about as appealing as Wolfie covering ABBA's back catalog.

What these people fail to grasp is the inherent tension in Land of the Loops' electronic twee pop. This music is actually a studied reaction to damaged childhood-- an attempt to return to a safe, silken womb that provides shelter to the wide-eyed innocent. As a listener, the complexity lies in briefly tasting this comfort while realizing that it will someday be snatched away; that's why those sampled voices on Bundle of Joy's "Muli-Family Garage Sale" keep intoning, "Bill, don't leave me!" and "Where are we, anyway?"

Bundle of Joy, it should be acknowledged now, was something of a minor masterpiece. Though all sorts of lo-fi electronic pop records have sprung up in the last three years, none could match its distinctive sound world and trance-inducing melodies. It was such a perfect realization of a particular vision, it was hard to imagine how Sutherland might follow it up. Would he try something completely different?

Quick answer: No. With Puttering about a Small Land, we find that Sutherland must have been in love with his former sound, too, as he follows the blueprint of his first full-length almost to the letter. But while I have to dock him a few points for repeating himself, it still sounds great. So, what the hell? If you like Bundle of Joy, and you want more of the same, buy this one, too.

Puttering about a Small Land features more straight-up pop songs with vocals than Bundle of Joy. Three tracks feature the singing of Takako Minekawa, a pairing that works as well on record as it sounds on paper. "How to Feed a See Monkey," a swirling sonic Jacuzzi awash in bubbly atmosphere, is the best of her contributions. Former Beat Happening vocalist and frequent Sutherland collaborator Heather Lewis punches in with "Fresh Pond Parkway," a catchy track that previously appeared on the Hurry Up and Wait EP, and the even better "Patience" (not the Guns N' Roses song).

Of the instrumental bed, Sutherland still combines vocal samples, impossibly warm synthesizers, and clumsy beats into an organic whole. While the sound bears the mark of his tools, Puttering about a Small Land slows things down a bit, remaining wistful while curtailing some of the tired humor. Some of these tracks would actually sound great spliced into a set of more challenging ambient music, a testament to Sutherland's ability to evoke a mood and his skill with the sampler.

-Mark Richard-San