Jill Cunniff, City Beach

The sunny side of New York City life peeks through the froth in this, the solo debut of Luscious Jackson's Jill Cunniff. Described by Cunniff as a "mood record made to bring the beach to caged up city dwellers," the CD lives up to that in several early songs and two at the end. The light, bright, sophisticated arrangements are like bubblegum with beats. But I enjoyed the CD a lot more at a modest volume at home while concentrating on something else, than I did in the car, where I want my music loud and ear-important. Want edgy? Go elsewhere. Want nice? This is nice. Maybe, for some Luscious Jackson fans, a little too nice.

There are some standouts. Cunniff goes deep in "Warm Sound," copping the tune from "Horse With No Name" and layering it on top of a thick atmosphere and syrupy beat drawn from Tori Amos's "Cornflake Girl." The baubles "Eye Candy" and "Exclusive" are tangy, catchy melodic pop - if you can ignore the lame lyrics.

"Love Is A Luxury" has a big build that Cunniff's modest vocal chops don't quite measure up to. But "Future Call," an intense little ska-tinged rocker, gets the blood going some; if Mr. Roboto-era Styx got together with Martha & the Muffins and had a baby band, it might sound like this.

can you hear the future call
valley boy, repo girl?
We're tearing down the shopping mall...
can you hear the future call
wild boys and west end girls?
read the writing on the wall

Hear clips here.