Death By Chocolate is geared toward a select audience: people who are far too interested in the original version of Bedazzled, Judy Carne, velvet frockcoats, Mary Quant, vinyl boots, Twiggy, Bentley automobiles, David Frost, pop art, and, of course, lovely English chocolates. You could call Death By Chocolate's music psychedelic, but only in the sense of those innocent, pre-hippie days when LSD was still a legal substance. Its music is
as sunny and pleasantly fluffy as the topics it sings about -- ice cold lemonade, rainbow colors, chocolate, and cinnamon grahams.
The group's self-titled debut was surely one of the weirdest and most obsessive releases of 2001. Among its 17 tracks were a Dudley Moore cover, a ditty from Harold and Maude, the theme song from "The Flying Nun", meditations on various colors, and a song that was nothing more than a list of chocolate treats. All of these childlike fetish pieces were set to fanciful retro '60s sounds, from go-go to lounge. It was cool, kitsch, utterly hip, a bit too obsessive about its inspirations for everyday listening, but a smashing success all the same.
On its sophomore full-length, Zap the World, Death By Chocolate offers up a platter of whimsy that, while similar to last year's model, betters it. The range of musical styles attempted on Zap the World is quite impressive. "Cutoutgirlscout" and "Bibi Gin" display the flair of a live '60s band with some grizzled electric guitar that is truly groovy. The instrumental "Artplay" finds the group going full-throttle into lounge jazz. Vocalist Angela Faye Tillett, who mostly relied on a deadpan, spoken-word style on the debut, does more singing this time out, achieving soaring harmonies on "Day Out" and also creating impressive results on the title track and "While I'm Still Young".
The brains behind Death By Chocolate belong to Mike Alway, the former head of Cherry Red/El Records, while Tillett, whose past careers have included Holiday Inn receptionist and fireproofer of Venetian blinds, supplies its voice -- a clear, tarty, charming one. Alway recruited Tillett for his project after meeting her through her boyfriend, who was then an employee at El. While the press has portrayed Tillett as a charming teenage strumpet, the truth is that she's now 23 years old. Damn it, though -- she's young at heart.
Alway and Tillett have created another winner with Zap the World, but the caveat remains that this music will not be to everyone's taste. If you don't find it amusing that the only lyrics to "Cutoutgirlscout" are "'Ere, my ice lolly just melted", this 'ere probably won't be your cup of . . . er, Chocolate.
— 12 July 2002
