Heart Attack

If Volume One of Kill Bill had been set in Sweden instead of Japan, the house band at that film's climatic finale would have been Hello Goodbye instead of the 5.6.7.8s. Hello Goodbye's emulation of minimalist '50s rock is in full swing on Heart Attack, a crash course in perky pop when it was played by slick-haired Daddy-Os in tight leather jackets. The band's economical lineup (electric guitar, drum kit restricted to snare and ride cymbal, and Lisa Lundkvist's pixyish vocals), while a perfect compliment to its uncomplicated catalog, lacks a solid backbone even for the album's brief runtime (the disc's 14 songs clock in at a mere 32 minutes). Heart Attack churns away with plenty of fun, whether it's the Velvet Underground pulse of "Summer Warmth", the cartoonish squealing in "Black Kneehighs" (Lundkvist's helium voice makes Gwen Stefani sound like Nico), the Stonesy crunch of "Ode to Betty", or the subtle noir of Townes Van Zandt's "Highway Kind". While no doubt a great choice for the soundtrack to your next 1950s theme party, or a funky addition to an eccentric mix tape, Hello Goodbye is nothing more than good kitschy fun. — Zeth Lundy