Kiss Offs

The Kiss Offs play sometimes cutesy, sometimes spike-y, Velvets/Jonathon Richman-influenced garage pop, which could easily find a home on Kill Rock Stars. They, however, prefer to release their records on their own Peek-A-Boo label, as they did with their 1999 debut full-length, Goodbye Private Life. This outing sees them still singing of new wavy bad love, like on "Let Me Find The Good In You" and "We Can Work It Out." Part of the inherent sauciness of the Kiss Offs lies in their female/male vocal trade-offs, often resulting in a "dirtier sounding than it is" kind of vibe. The lyrics are sly and funny but never goofy, with "Broken Fingers For Talented Singers" offering up lines like "Three chords are great, but one will do." The last portion of the album takes the form of a four-part concept piece featuring the highlight segment "Cut Your Pretty Face," with its surf-y yet discordant guitar work.