Tipsy: Buzzz

Cursed with a fickle subgenre classification that never found its scene, Tipsy’s first two albums in 1997 and 2001 provided he backbone of the lounge collage movement, along side the catalogue of Fantastic Plastic Machine and, to a lesser extent, Death By Chocolate. All three bands had their labels fold (RIP Asphodel, Emperor Norton, and JetSet) and the players found something else to do. Tracks from Tipsy, based around the San Francisco duo of Dave Gardner and Tim Digulla, had graced many advertisements and soundtracks (The Sopranos, Sex In The City, MTV’s Real World) in its own time. So, after Asphodel closed its doors, Tim and Dave had no problem finding work on the commercial side of things.

Seven years later, Mike Patton finally coaxed Tipsy to step back into the indie music realm. Delayed for about a year and released with almost no press at the tail end of 2008, this critic couldn’t be happier to see their third album, Buzzz, finally hit the shelves. Home to Kid606 and Fantômas, Ipecac is a great fit for another serving of under-appreciated space lounge with glimpses of cheeky bossa nova and retro reggae. Even with such a sizable gap, the differences between Buzzz and its predecessors are subtle, probably unnoticeable to anyone who isn’t a geek like yours truly. As AllMusic pointed out in their glowing review, the new record does sound more live, clean, and focussed than the heavily loop based Trip Tease and UH-OH. Buzzz fully immerses itself in its own trip. It’s a go-go magic boots are made for swingin’ shindig, and one that makes me smile every time I experience it. Was it worth the wait for essentially more of the same? You bet your sweet paisley ass, it was.