All Under

Although it was released in 2006, first-time listeners to the first album by Toronto-based dance-pop duo Sissy would be excused for thinking they were hearing a long-forgotten gem from the mid-'90s U.K. indie electronic scene. All Under is a canny mix of heavy beats and sweetly sung pop hooks that recalls vintage Portishead, Massive Attack, and Saint Etienne, not to mention such near-forgotten dance-pop acts as Dubstar and Space. The duo's retro musical approach is a refreshing reaffirmation of the sounds that made some truly great music back in the day, but All Under isn't merely a nostalgia exercise. Songs like the dreamy first single "I See You" and the darkly atmospheric "Can't See You" (which features strings and acoustic guitars alongside the electronics for a sound akin to Everything But the Girl's Walking Wounded era) feature a sturdy melodic sense, and the album's secret weapon is singer Johanne Williams' gentle croon of a voice, an immediately appealing vocal style with strong echoes of Portishead's Beth Gibbons, but also some of the tremulous emotion of Lisa Germano. All Under is an album that transcends the sub-categories of electronica, as appealing to more pop-minded listeners as it is to the club kids.