Casper and the Cookies

The aptly named second album from Athens, GA’s Casper and the Cookies is filled with classic pop songs. Jason NeSmith (ex-Of Montreal) shares writing credits with Kay Stanton on their second endeavour together and it works well, creating a gender perfect balance in the lyrics and overall sound. They do an excellent job of keeping things upbeat and so sincerely pop in lyrics and sound that it’s somewhat timeless in its musicality. The first half of the album is a cycle of songs relating a story about two friends from Atlanta who take a trip to New York and fall in love. The mini-EP is started with Stanton’s soft, lazy vocals, simple keyboards and classic poppy guitar on the opener "Krötenwanderung.” The romance continues with "DuChamp’s Camera” another of Stanton’s solos in which her measured vocals and particular timing make the song what it is. There are references to the avant-garde and anti-art throughout, as well as a shameless admiration of DuChamp. Their previous album drew comparisons to They Might Be Giants and there’s a reminiscence of that here as well, mostly in NeSmith’s irrelevant lyrics and a song dedicated to birds. They pull out all the pop-stops with duets on "Barking in the Garden of Ill Repute” and "Sea Fingers,” a perfectly formed pop tune with keyboards and solid drums and lyrics like "danger like a dagger,” which build into a rollicking crescendo.