Given
Cornershop
's extended seven-year layoff, it's not unreasonable to expect
Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast
-- the group's first album since 2002's
Handcream for a Generation
-- to be somewhat of a reinvention for a group that specialized in ever-shifting change in the '90s. As it turns out,
Judy
finds
riding a very, very comfortable groove, replicating the sound of feel of the bright, boogying
Handcream
while stripping away any of its intensity. That means that this is the friendliest batch of neo-glam to come down the pike in quite some time, never catching fire but never really striking a match, either, and it's the least adventurous dose of eclecticism, too, with nary a sitar, Mellotron, or sample out of place. Familiarity may often breed contempt, but not here, because there's a palpable sense of happiness running through the music -- not something that's exuberant, but rather mellow and colorful. By now,
's blend of '60s pop, '70s rock, and '90s multi-culturism feels as retro as their inspirations, but that's only because the world has moved on to other fashions while the band has not. Instead of redefining their world, they're happy to cultivate their own little garden, and when the fruit is as pleasing at this, it makes sense. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine