Aquarius
OnAquarium, Aqua were "Barbie Girls"; now they're "Cartoon Heroes." A slight change in context for their second album, but, essentially, it's business as usual. And let's not forget that Aqua do this slapstick kiddie-pop thing with a lot more panache than their shamelessly novelty Euro-goons peers. The relentless zaniness ofAquariusmay sometimes be cloying, especially those too-chirpy chipmunk voices on "Cartoon Heroes," but there's no denying that this is a pop group that really lives this pop lark--shaved-headed frontman Rene really does talk in that comedy growl and frontwoman Lene really doesn't wear more than a stretched scrap of PVC whenever she leaves the house. This makesAquariusquite likeable, actually--especially on the slapstick-trance workout of "Around the World," which even manages to squeeze in a brief geography lesson.--Louis Pattison