Music Review

City Beach (2007)

EW's GRADE
B-

Details Release Date: Feb 20, 2007; Lead Performance: Jill Cunniff; Genre: Pop

Urban grit meets tropical heat on City Beach, the winsome but wispy solo debut from Luscious Jackson vet Jill Cunniff. On slacker paeans like ''Lazy Girls,'' Brazilian-tinged techno draws a soothing aural bath; Wurlitzer and jittery percussion punch up the brassy ''Happy Warriors.'' Sadly, her lyrics slide into threadbare banalities (e.g., ''In this electric Babylon/We gotta gotta carry on''). In ''Happy Warriors'' Cunniff asks listeners to ''come out of your sugar haze'' — an apt echo of the tart smarts that made LJ a pop delight.

Originally posted Feb 16, 2007 Published in issue #922 Feb 23, 2007 Order article reprints

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