EarlyNorthAmerican

A gasp of astonished joy. The urgently hollered invitation of a young girl to "Come out! Come on out!" Birds singing in the trees at sunrise. A melody that suggests the promise of a summer yet to come -- the best summer of your life. These are some of the sounds heard on EarlyNorthAmerican, the beguiling second CD (and Upper Class Recordings debut) from acclaimed Toronto duo Girls Are Short.

The best pop, expressed in music or in words, evokes the feeling of being young, free, and in awe of the extraordinary scope of everyday life. Girlsareshort -- Daniel and Alex -- know this intrinsically. "EarlyNorthAmerican" is, like the memory of adolescence buffed to a fine, soft glow in the mists of hindsight, a tour de force of pop proficiency that conjures the beauty, romance, absurdity and sadness of youth in little more than 40 minutes. If a girls' summer camp had a techno club, the music might sound something like this.