Dansette Dansette

Tender Trap is now a proper girl-group! In contrast to the earlier line-up, which had a more electronic bent, the newly revitalized 'Trap has stronger links to the pop lineage of its founder members; Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey were in influential indie-pop originals and John Peel favorites Talulah Gosh and Heavenly, who released records on Sarah Records, K and Stephen Pastel's 53rd and 3rd, but neither band had this much vocal harmony going on. With two new extra voices (from guitarist Elizabeth Morris of Allo Darlin fame and drummer Katrina Dixon), the band now combines the harmonies, oohs, ahhs and sha-la-las of classic girl-group pop with the stripped-down beats and dirty guitars of the Shop Assistants and The Vaselines. Following releases on K, Matinee, Fortuna Pop! and Elefant, Tender Trap presents Dansette Dansette, their excellent third album. Bristling with crunchy guitars and effortlessly catchy tunes, Dansette Dansette proves why Fletcher and Pursey have been such a huge influence on today's generation of pop bands. 'Dansette Dansette' kicks off the record in fine fashion - morse-code feedback bleeps leading into a melodic ode to the bedroom record player. The album's first single, 'Do You Want a Boyfriend?' is a perfect chunk of pop, but it's not as innocent as it seems - it celebrates the girl-pop phenomenon, but deconstructs it, too. 'Girls With Guns' and '2 to the N' are more punk-inspired, hearkening back to Fletcher's Talulah Gosh roots. Slower tunes like 'Suddenly' and 'Counting the Hours' give plenty of room for Fletcher's vocal interplay with Morris and Dixon, and 'Capital L' wraps up the album in epic fashion - a tambourine-driven slow-dance that builds to a glorious crescendo. Fresh and full of melodic surprises, Dansette Dansette is a smashing and very welcome return for some of indie-pop's most influential players, and shows Tender Trap to be at the top of their game.