This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
“’Ere. My ice lolly jes melted!” That’s the sort of cheeky Cockney fluffery that passes for lyrics in Death By Chocolate’s world. Needless to say, their world isn’t anything like ours.
For this retro twee-pop outfit, time, space and dimension came to an apex and then stopped dead somewhere in the middle of Carnaby street in swinging London circa ’67. Like their sugary self-titled debut from last year, Zap The World is a trip back to the days of miniskirts, white go-go boots and The Zombies. While the band perkily groove like the theme song to a chat show hosted by Austin Powers, vocalist Angie Tillett chatters away in her aloofly posh accent about the Vox Wah Wah Pedal, the Bentley Corniche, her favourite cereal Cinnamon Grahams and anything else that seems to come to mind. There’s actually some very cool method to this madness — the Vox cut is a remake of an actual old commercial, Cutoutgirlscout is an old Peter Cook and Dudley Moore track and the title cut was apparently inspired by H.R. Pufinstuf. But you don’t need to know all that to dig Zap The World. All you need is a sense of humour and an ear for classic ’60s pop. Of course, if you have an ice lolly, that’s nice too.
