Inspired by John Hughes’ imaginary town of Shermer, Illinois, singers Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey teleport from their London base to “Condale, California,” the equally fictional setting for their terrifically tart debut. Warbling in U.K. starlet mode (think Sophie Ellis-Bextor), sometime NME writer Sankey delivers droll lyrics as if perpetually rolling her eyes to the heavens, while the production by Pulp veteran Steve Mackey combines chart smarts with indie get-up-and-go. The unstoppable opening slam of Sankey’s snarky “Better Off Without You” and Warmsley’s sincere “Brian Krakow” is the stuff Britpop dreams are made of.
