The Puppini Sisters - Betcha Bottom Dollar

I suppose with the plethora of modern bands who seem willing to hark back to the sounds of the 60's, 70's and 80's it was only a matter of time before we got back to the 1940's. And so it is that we come to the Puppini Sisters, who mine that 1940's Jazz Swing era with a series of close-harmony reworkings of classic songs both old and new.

First things first, you cannot deny that the voices are good and the three-track harmonies do indeed sound special; in fact vocally, The Pipettes have nothing on this trio. But where the Pipettes write their own songs and deliver them with a knowing wink, the Puppini Sisters stick to cover versions and never seem to quite know whether to play things straight (Mr. Sandman) or to turn up the cheese factor and acknowledge the joke (Wuthering Heights).

Covering Wuthering Heights is a trick that works, and the "doo wap she wap" interludes throughout Blondie's Heart Of Glass had this particular listener crying with laughter. And I mean that in a good way. When it hits the mark this is a very entertaining album. Other highlights include Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano (which is better than the Jude Law & Matt Damon version ;-D) and the album closer, In The Mood. In fact this vocal-only track shows just how good this album could have been if there had been more like this.

However once the novely of the act wears off, there seems precious little else to bring you back to the album. Their crack at The Smiths Panic has a mild comedy value on the first listen, but really begins to grate after that. Still as something to dip into when you're "in the mood" this has its charms but you are left with the feeling that there could have been so much more on offer. Who knows, maybe that will come next time.

Matt's Picks - Wuthering Heights, In The Mood