This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
There are mored varieties of pop music than there are months in the year. L.A. outfit The Januaries play ’em all — or at least as many as they can — over the course of this 13-cut debut album.
Fronted by sultry-voiced blond bombshell Debbie Diamond, this versatile sextet cruises through girl-group sugar (Juliette), fuzzy ’n’ groovy ’60s go-go (Black Transmission), curry-flavoured Indian dance-pop (Love Met the Devil), Belle and Sebastian-style folk-pop (The Girl’s Insane), husky Bardotesque noir-pop (Cinema Girl), chirpy Bacharachish confections (Love Has Flown) and even summer-of-love psychedelia (the hidden final track, which sounds like The Doors covering Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, believe it or not). Sometimes The Januaries appear to be too versatile for their own good — they seem to be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks — but there’s no denying that once they pick a style, it’ll be their year.
