Kiss and Tell

M.J. Fine does it again

by M.J. Fine

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Published: Oct 8, 2008

It'd been four years since Jill Sobule's last disc, and more than three times as long since she had a hit with "I Kissed a Girl." Then Katy Perry owned the summer with her own love-it-or-hate-it single, and some were itching for a catfight between the two self-proclaimed girl kissers. Sobule hasn't exactly been hibernating; she worked on a Nickelodeon show and took on extracurricular work with Julia Sweeney, Don Was and Arianna Huffington. And early this year, when she sought $75,000 to make a new album, her fans met her goal in less than two months.

Jill Sobule Jill Sobule (Lava/Atlantic, 1995)

Jill Sobule Prozak and the Platypus (Line Storm Productions, 2008)

In the meantime, she's released Prozak and the Platypus, a suite of songs from Elise Thoron's musical about the fraught relationship between a depressed teen, her neuroscientist father and an existentialist platypus. It's surprising how much mileage the chipper-sounding singer gets out of such dry material. Take "Talkin' Platy," a zoological lesson that Sobule turns into a monster hook. "I'm a warm-blooded, egg-laying cloacal monotreme," she sings. "They got me in a tank to see if I can dream." Her stab at an Aussie accent is silly, the syntax is stilted and the platypus's boast of chasing crustaceans with lager is scientifically suspect, but the hook is catchy as hell. There are some lovely small moments, too: "Deep Blue" and "Evolution" nail the fog of depression.

Sobule brings a light touch to the situation, just as she does on "I Kissed a Girl." Her not-so-straight friends may be dating men, but their chemistry is as emotional as it is physical. (Perry's bar girls aren't bicurious, just drunk.) Like many of Sobule's songs, it's a tantalizing peek into the secret lives of women: "Karen By Night" follows a buttoned-down boss to a shady rendezvous; "Margaret" remembers the golden girl who grew up to make pornos. Elsewhere, the focus is on anorexics ("Supermodel"), romantic martyrs ("Houdini's Box") and dreamers ("Resistance Song"). No platypuses here, but like Sobule's squeaky voice, you'll find all the anxiety and hidden strength that comes with being a girl. Kiss that.

(m_fine@citypaper.net)

Jill Sobule plays World Café Live tonight.

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