Plus-Tech Squeeze Box made a worldwide name for themselves with 2000's "Fakevox", an explosive, eclectic, Technicolor pop take on the Shibuya-kei sound. Since then, they've parted company with vocalist Junko Kamada, but gained the services of about eight thousand guest vocalists for their long overdue follow-up "Cartoom!".

First, the stuff that hasn't changed: The quirky, TV theme introduction and interludes, the basic ingredients of punk-pop ("fiddle-dee-dee!!"), hyperspace bubblegum ("starship 6"), cutesy-voiced female vocals (everywhere) and the odd snatch of bluegrass ("Uncle Chicken's drag rag") have all survived the transit. More importantly, so has the sense of toe-tapping immediacy, tight, waste-free songwriting and purebred pop fun that always ensured that they steered clear of the self-indulgence that sometimes plagues groups like Fantastic Plastic Machine.

What distinguishes "Cartoom!" from its predecessor, weirdly for an album that wears its eclecticism like a Swedish football supporter wears yellow face-paint, is a greater coherence. There's an almost concept-album like feel to the Saturday morning children's TV motif that runs through it. There's no attempt at seriousness made, and every nook and cranny of the album is shined and polished to maximum bubblegum pop power. Gone is the generic bossa-nova that sometimes made their debut a touch too cafe music, and in its place is the playground hip-hop of "SUZZZZZY", the Jackson 5 pastiche of "THE mARTIN SHOW!!" and the Yuki-fronting-Polysics-while-eating-ice-cream intensity of "f(ake)".

At a Nick Drake-worrying 28 minutes in length, it might seem like scant reward for a four year wait, but listen to it once and if you don't skip right back to the start and listen again, and again, then you do not have ears and may need to see a doctor.-Ian Martin, June.26.04

Cartoom!