(Team Swan)

www.myspace.com/natalieportmansshavedhead

Glistening Pleasure, the debut from young Seattleites Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, relies on irony, kitsch and humor for its joyful electro-pop. It makes sense that they tour with CSS and the Go! Team: they aim for a similar pure-pleasure center and strive for direct, sugar-coated, dance-happy confections.

The coed quartet of 18 – 20 year olds echoes music of their parents’ generation—early Depeche Mode’s new wave / disco thump especially, but also the B-52s’ jokiness—and demonstrate a love of cheesy synths and trebly rhythm guitars a la contemporaries Black Kids. But Glistening Pleasure’s bouncy tracks get undermined by the d-u-m-b storylines, which reach their nadir with “Beard Lust,” a talky track about follicle grooming (“You’ve got to take care of your facial hair / Otherwise, it gets scruffy and bare”). That “Sophisticated Side Ponytail” follows “Beard Lust” shows the depth we’re dealing with here. This isn’t a concept album about hair (if only!); elsewhere, NP’s Shaved Head tackle peeping tom voyeurism (“Bedroom Costume”) and other forms of young lust (“Me + Yr Daughter,” “Holding Hands In The Shower”).

One can be reminded of youthful innocence by reveling in silly fun, but one can also be annoyed when confronted with puerile obviousness, even when it’s candy-coated.

Standout Tracks: “Me + Yr Daughter,” “Mouth Full Of Bones” STEVE KLINGE