Jill Cunniff

Everything you loved about Luscious Jackson is here in the first solo album from the '90s alt-darlings' bassist: You've got your breathy, girly vocals; your easy, breezy trip-pop-hop production; and your fine little beat. What else? Oh yeah, whimsy -- in spades. (Frankly, the whimsy is spread on a little thick on some tracks, like the corn-fed "Lazy Girls.") Here's what's new: a loose bossa groove, an adult (contemporary) romanticism and here and there ("Future Call," "Love Is a Luxury") a kind of pop-punk aesthetic that speaks to Cunniff's CBGB's-bred youth.

Back in the nineties, Jill Cunniff was the frontwoman for the almost-famous trio Luscious
Jackson, three New York girls on the Beastie Boys' label who trafficked in friendly,
hip-hop-informed funk pop. Her solo debut offers something a little different: breezy indie
pop underpinned with electronic beats that are usually lush and sometimes expansive.
Songs like "Happy Warriors" and "NYC Boy" are well crafted and charming, showi... More >