When does something stop being a novelty and become a gimmick? The Pipettes, Brighton's newest musical marvels (if you believe the British music press) know all about gimmicks, primarily because they are one. Harsh? Perhaps; but when you've listened to the same track more or less re-hashed fourteen times in the space of half an hour, lenience is not a virtue. The all-girl trio (Becki, Rose and Gwenno, backed by all-boy quartet The Cassettes) are a piquant live proposition; all polka-dot dresses, 60s-girl group hairstyles and the dance moves to match - but We Are the Pipettes, despite its pledge to provide a similar electricity on record, simply fails to deliver. Even with most songs failing to surmount the three-minute-mark, you may find that by the time track five trundles 'round, interest has been not only lost, but smothered to death with a beehive hairdo and left to rot under the Ferris Wheel of some fairground. Introductory opener We Are the Pipettes is a likeable but repetitive one-dimensional tune; Why Did You Stay?'s slightly less-overblown Shadows riff is enjoyable enough but ultimately unremarkable, and Tell Me What You Want's Spector-al, orchestral backing would provide suitable sustenance for Dusty Springfield on an off-day. Otherwise, proceedings verge on embarrassing at times; the Terry Wogan-lauded Pull Shapes and the Daphne and Celeste-fest Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me are pastiched horrors that the freakish kids from Barney the Dinosaur would love to get their mitts on, and It Hurts To See You Dance So Well lacks the sass and sex appeal that The Chalets peddle so efficiently. Ultimately, We Are the Pipettes is an unvaried and terribly disappointing collection of songs loaded with silly chants, puerile, rudimentary lyrics, overblown production and extremely ordinary vocals. Apart from the fans that will refuse to admit being let down by WATP, the only other plausible market for them is that of 8 year-old girls, who'll love the elementary melodies and methodical harmonies - and even then, it would be a waste of pocket money. File under 'O' for One Trick (My Little) Ponies.