The Pipettes

For all the love given to classic, built-from-scratch girl groups - even Rhino's 2005 B-list box set, One Kiss Can Lead to Another, received almost universal acclaim - it's surprising that they're so rarely manufactured successfully (except when they're pseudo strippers like the Pussycat Dolls).  The sweet-singing, nattily outfitted Brit trio of Gwenno, Rosay, and RiotBecki, have been embraced by the indie-rock set, who are apparently happy to ignore slight similarities to the genre's last great phenom, the Spice Girls.  But that's no insult: "Pull Shapes" and "One Night Stand" make delicious dessert treats, aspiring to little more.  Quoth the former: "I just wanna move/ I don't care what the song's about."

By Josh Modell