Bric-a-Brac

The two albums of light and breezy, mod '60s lounge-psych, spoken-word-meets-soundtrack-to-The Avengers that Death by Chocolate released at the turn of the 2000s seemed like brilliant one-offs, never to be repeated. Amazingly, they returned ten years after Zap the World with a new album, Bric-a-Brac, which sounds like it could have been recorded ten minutes after they finished Zap. The group, now down to vocalist Angela Tillett, keyboard whiz Jez Butler, and Canadian soundtrack composer Jason Frederick, takes the same tongue-in-cheeky approach to its sound and delivers an album with exactly the same amount of silly fun and cocktail charm as exhibited before. The songs are short and sweet, topics ranging from new motorbikes, to the ever popular day out, to hotels of the 1960s, with Tillett's note-perfect spoken vocals surrounded by warm vintage keys, plinky drum machines, and a clean, sparkling production. As before, there's not a single bit of sweat or emotion on display; the album is pure smooth pleasure from start to finish. Though times have changed and the music seems even more quaint than it did in 2002, Bric-a-Brac has the benefit of being doubly nostalgic, calling to mind the easy space-age joys of the 1960s and the tail end of the cocktail revival. A welcome return in every way.