Debut album from excellent Swedish pop band..."essential hormonal bubblegum anarchy...quintessential pop litmus." After a series of spunky and sassy singles for WIAIWYA and Piao! Which you would have been quite lucky to have found before they disappeared into the collections of adoring cognoscenti, Girlfrendo are back with their first album. And let there be no doubt, they are here to stay. Surprise! Surprise! It's Girlfrendo is a snapshot of a group who have just come into their powers. Maturity: no! If the musical rough edges of the first singles have been replaced by a smoothness which has come with experience, it is because the newfound musical finesse - acoustics, brass and organs to match Sweden's finest - only makes an even better foil for these emancipated Eliza Doolittles. They can do exactly what they want now. They can get away with anything. And they are obviously amusing themselves highly in the process of showing the world. Every song on this record is a mad idea, a challenge, a possibility, a dream, an inspiration, a surprise. A funky lesson in diction in "Homework. An oversexed answer to the Would-be-Goods' "Marvelous Boy in "Delicatessen. A battle of the sexes and anthem for aficionados of the blush in "First Kiss Feelings vs. Everyday Sensations. And just how many different kisses are there? They keep popping up on this album, from the sweet revenge of "Surprise Surprise to "Kisses in the Nursery, a catalogue which may be inappropriate for older listeners. Dreams crop up by the dozen as well. "Air takes us on a flight of fancy without leaving the cozy comfort of the sheets, while "Cat Heaven describes exactly what the title purports, with wit, imagination, and not without the essential feline snobbism. Further cataloguing and taxonomy (if not taxidermy) of boy types takes place on "Crushed, with the ultimate flogging of hip attitudes and pop prescriptionism reserved for the hilariously sad "Lose Your Face - reminiscent of Momus' "What Will Death Be Like? in skewering technique but not in tedium. Which is the essence of Girlfrendo philosophy: rejection of routine, abhorrence of authority, a surplus of surprises. Before we get completely carried away with the music, let's don't forget the fabulous sleeve design by PAT Detective, whose consistently clever graphics until now have been the exclusive privilege of Japanese connoisseurs. It impressed my date, and I can only hope that yours will be as discriminating. Of course, it is immoral and ill-advised to use music for screening potential romantic partners. But if we were to forget this tenet for a moment, we wouldn't file Girlfrendo under essential hormonal bubblegum anarchy - we would reserve a special shelf for Girlfrendo as the quintessential pop litmus.