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Having spent most of his career shakin' a contortionist's wobbly leg and scratchin' out sizable hooks with the English Beat and Fine Young Cannibals, guitarist Andy Cox finally steps (teeters?) out of the shadows as the arranger/musical head of Britpop duo Cribabi. 

Often marveled for his imaginative reconstructions of island ska and American soul, Cox's latest work is skewed here with an intriguing partner, Yukari Fresh- a young, underground Japanese singer known for her devotion to shibuya-key. (In its purest form, shibuya-key subjects '60s American pop to full-on saccharinization- nonsensical bubblegum verses laced with effervescent, ABBA-like harmonies to mindless, sickening extreme.) 

Cribabi is much more stylish and (surprisingly!) guitar-oriented than the current ebb and flow of Europe's dancework (think of them as a tribute to Chic)- posing a new threat to the quickly-diminishing Euro-boredom of electronica. Whether the jangly nervousness of their Carpenters' cover, "Yesterday Once More," or the nu-soul cool of "Breakfast Show," Cox's funky comping and Yukari's virtuous voice are redirecting r'n'b with a fresh Eurasian spice.