On Aquarium, Aqua were "Barbie Girls"; now they're "Cartoon Heroes". A slight change in context for their second album, but essentially, it's business as usual--and let's not forget that Aqua do this slapstick kiddie-pop thing with a lot more panache than their shamelessly novelty Euro-goons peers. The relentless zaniness of Aquarius may sometimes become slightly cloying, especially those too-chirpy-by-half chipmunk voices on "Cartoon Heroes", but there's no denying that this is a pop group that really lives this pop lark--shaven-headed frontman Rene really does talk in that comedy growl and frontwoman Lene really doesn't wear more than a stretched scrap of PVC whenever she leaves the house. Which makes Aquarius quite likeable, actually--especially on the slapstick-trance workout of "Around The World", which even manages to squeeze in a brief geography lesson. --Louis Pattison
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