This month I’m featuring my top 20 albums of the past decade, to celebrate 10 years of This Must Be Pop! Click here to see all the Decade of Pop posts so far.
Following on from yesterday’s featured album by Music Go Music, here’s another very different take on retro-pop. As much as I love Expressions, We Are The Pipettes has to be my favourite retro-pop album of the decade, as it’s so uplifting, witty and consistently brilliant. The balance of an authentic 60s sound with lyrics, melodies and production that don’t sound outdated is very impressive. We Are The Pipettes was created in a moment of genius from all involved, one of those mysterious occasions when the stars align and magical pop music is born.
When I heard their more lo-fi early, I thought The Pipettes would just be one of those bands that makes nice music in its own little world, never to cross over to the mainstream despite the catchiness of their tunes. But when I heard Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me, my perception totally changed, as I realised this band could have universal appeal. And then I heard Pull Shapes, their most successful single, and I knew that The Pipettes were going to join the ranks of my favourite ever pop groups. When the album was released soon after, it satisfied all my expectations.