“We are the Pipettes/ We’re the prettiest girls you’ve ever met,” declare Rosay, Gwenno and Becki, three teenage girls from Brighton, by way of modest introduction.

The girls’ debut could have been the kind of dubious product that appeals to old men hanging inappropriately about MySpace. But thanks to their steely girl-gang mentality and a killer understanding of Spectoresque pop and kohl-eyed punk, the Pipettes have produced a noble offshoot of their city’s Riot Grrl heritage. The raucous symphonies of Dirty Mind and Pull Shapes or the Leader of the Pack slam of Your Kisses are Wasted on Me prove that the Pipettes are as fearsome as the opening track suggests — “When you’re crying in your beds/ You’ll hope we haven’t finished with you yet.”


(Memphis Industries)

Editor's choice

• Alicia Keys lets rip
• Streep and Baldwin get complicated
• Guy Ritchie on Sherlock Holmes