A quick glance at the track titles on ‘Teardrop Sweetheart’ yields uninspiring emotions. Titles such as : ‘Losing’, ‘Trying’ and ‘Cruelist Heart’ all denote a certain knowing melancholy that Sony BMG have latched onto as ‘the Next Big Thing’. Indeed, on the surface, the content would border on irritating if not for the peppy fashion in which the songs are delivered- light-hearted production, summer-evening chord progressions and Casio beats are mixed with witty, whimsical (and yes, melancholy) lyrics. However, it retains some of Tomlab’s signature sound: ‘Cruelist Heart’- brings to mind a high-pitched electro Manu Chao remix, and ‘Anaconda’ opens with one of the best line on the album- ‘Anaconda, sitting in her Honda/ Feedin’ in the parkin’ lot’. From ‘Anaconda’s tropical reptilian sway, to the Philip Dick-inspired ‘The Book (of Glaciers)’, the album remains simultaneously eclectic and cohesive, a fact which could either be testament to be Ashley Yao and John Chao’s musicality, but which would probably be more accurately attributed to the killer team of producers behind the record (Ted Gaier and Melissa Logan, to name but a few). Misha are at their best, though, when they eschew the remixes and are left alone singing over a Casio and a drum machine, as exemplified in the closing track- ‘Trying’. At a little less than 30 minutes for a debut album, ‘Teardrop Sweetheart’ is deceptively simplistic, charming on the ear, and far too brief.

Ailbhe Malone is 21 years old. She continually gets Malcolm McClaren and Steve McClaren mixed up.
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