Cinnamon is a bittersweet mix of retro-pop arrangements, spacey-keyboards, sulky vocals and jangly guitars. The band has a scattered discography consisting of several Japanese-only EP’s, that were compiled along with one new song for the domestic full length, The Courier, in 1997. The Many Moods Of Cinnamon consists of tracks from the band’s forthcoming full length entitled Vertigo as well as a few 8-track demos- all of which encapsulate the band’s almost fetishistic marriage to breezy, Bacharach style pop lavishness that packs an unexpectedly edgy punch.

Vocalist Frida Diesen uses her cloying, baby girl vocals like a double-edged sword. She coos demurely to lure you in and then delicately pierces your heart with her troubled lyrics. Jiri Novak’s compositions are an eclectic mix of pop, German deconstruction, and lounge. Don’t be fooled by the sugary hooks and the lush arrangements. Occasionally, the songs meld into noisy swirls of chaotic bliss. There is also a relatively strong electronic presence, but it doesn’t sound prosaic or bandwagonesque. Cinnamon straddles the perfect middle ground between The Cardigans and Stereolab.