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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, April 16, 2004
I'd never heard of this band before, and at first they struck me as any old chillout band: pretty girl, quiet guy, gentle, pastoral summer afternoon music. But this record unravels its charms subtly and slowly until you are intoxicated. Weaving psychadelica, indie, space-rock and pop into one coherant whole, its full of gorgeous harmonies on tracks like the understated but ecstasy-inspiring 'Christmas Song', like a collision between European chillout and sweet, US indie music. The album benefits very much from the excellent production of the brilliant David Holmes.
Both of them have lovely voices, particularly the girl, who has one of those sweet, innocent American voices you could just die for. 'Baby You Should Know' is driven by rock guitar and a soulful feel that makes it a catchy, brilliant pop song somewhat reminiscent of Grandaddy. The uptempo, wistful optimism of 'Out of the Sun' breaks your heart with its beauty, 'Dosed And Became Invisible' is all gorgeous, hovering strings and 'Ron' is just as great a bittersweet, immense song about time and death and the Flaming Lips have ever mustered. Things close with the immediate, simple, inspiring 'Valley Stream'. Quirky, catchy, and sugar-sweet, this is the perfect soundtrack for 2004 as summer approaches. Pretty near perfect.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
sometimes you find it, June 22, 2005
This was way too strange. I heard 33x on XM's XMU station. I write down the group and song. I am unfamilar. I buy American Whip. I also buy the first album... with nary a listen at all. I think there are elements of Stereolab, Ivy, Flowchart, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, and maybe even that vocal standard of Juliana Hatfield from just a limited exposure to a single song. I knows what I like. I jump.
When I get the album American Whip, I am reading thru the liner notes.. so who is doing some of the mixing? None other than Kevin Shields... what the.... no wonder I like it. I wondered what he was doing since there is no other MBV album on any horizon since Loveless. The sound is unmistakable... you can hear that poppy vocal sound along with great guitar riffs and analog electronics.
To say the least, both albums are excellent. They are on continuous play. I purchased everything else I could find. That should tell you something.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whip smart, July 9, 2005
If the White Stripes got really, REALLY stoned, they might sound something like Joy Zipper.
This talented duo smothers any sign of a sophomore slump in "American Whip," with its lush mesh of sixties psychedelica and shoegazer pop. The resulting album is languid, expansive and dreamy, but laced with a dark edge that you won't find in any Zombies or Beach Boys album.
The delicately blurred "Sunstroke" slowly opens into a whimsical little love song: "I need you more than the rain in springtime/love you more than the open sea." It's an exceptionally sweet song, and it does lure you in. But don't expect all to be happiness and light -- despite the colorful, hazy sound, the songs can get pretty grim at times.
Examples: The swirling lo-fi pop number "Alzheimer's" is from the POV of an old woman with Alzheimer's Disease. "Why do I keep forgetting my name?/Maybe it's something I ate/What is this terrible thing coming over me?" Vincent Cafiso drones. Parent/child alienation. And odes to "Drugs" and magic mushrooms.
Despite their obvious debts to bands like Stereolab, Zombies and fuzzy psychpop, Joy Zipper doesn't sound specifically like anything but itself. The duo's hazy, mellow music just sweeps the listener off their feet, as it brings to mind visions of California sunshine, summer days, flowery fields... and lots of drugs.
Cafiso and his bandmate Tabitha Tindale share keyboard duty, weaving a thick electronic fog around Cafiso's slow-burning guitar riffs and mellow basslines. There are some guest musicians, mostly contributing violins to songs like "Dosed and Became Invisible," which has a strong string presence from beginning to end.
Cafiso and Tindale have wonderfully synchronised vocals -- he sounds stoned and melodic, she sounds ethereal. And they're suited to the smart lyrics: "I dosed and became invisible/A compilation of my dreams/Exploded in my sleep." The "Alzheimer's" song hedges on bad taste when Cafiso sings about Ivory soap, but the lack of humor saves it from seeming grossly insensitive.
Like a shoegazer Fiery Furnaces or a stoned White Stripes, Joy Zipper churns out beautifully foggy rock music. "American Whip" is definitely worth checking out.
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by Joy Zipper 
