Armed with a voice that's almost too good to be true, Andrea Perry gives off a vibe so pleasant and cheerful that she could convince even the most down-on-his-luck chap that the sun is beaming in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. There's a strong Kate Bush quality to Saturday Morning Sweet Shoppe; the album is full of lyrical oddities and quirky melodies which, coupled with Perry's Voice of the Beehive-style approach to girly pop, provides a perfect antidote for a day muddled with bad weather.

The songs on Sweet Shoppe are generally so quirky that their brilliance goes unnoticed on the first few spins. The last twenty seconds of "Simple" are filled with the kind of strange and playful sound effects you could find featured in Saturday morning cartoons -- and to Perry's credit, the song actually works. A few tracks later, on "To Have A Heart", Perry sings a chorus that could easily work as a pre-school anthem. Thankfully, Perry isn't limited to kiddie fare. After a few more spins, the album's unique arrangements and pure originality begin to sink in, and you wonder why you didn't notice it earlier. Perry has an obvious fondness for Paul McCartney; it would be hard to deny that he has been an ongoing influence in her music, but Perry certainly isn't the first to strive for McCartneyesque songwriting. However, she differentiates herself from other Beatles/Wings enthusiasts by not using that influence as a crutch. You could drop plenty of names in an effort to describe Perry's music -- Tuscadero and Juliana Hatfield come to mind -- but she melds them into a unique approach.

Perry suffers from pretty serious stage fright, so you won't hear her playing live at your corner bar (or Borders) any time soon, but in a way, her performance anxiety helps to make Saturday Morning Sweet Shoppe so engaging. With all of the extra time she has from not touring, she's been able to perfect her multi-layered recording techniques and master a plenitude of instruments (with the exception of drums, Perry plays everything here).

Though her music is unarguably bright and cheerful, Perry's lyrics aren't always optimistic. On "Wilderness", perhaps her most downbeat song, Perry sings "I'm burning out/and I can feel it/If I am lifeless/Revive me." "I Don't Need This" and "If I Lose You" also point toward a less than cheerful outlook. Wait a few minutes, though, and the grooving bass lines and sing-along harmonies will return -- and with them, an undeniable urge to dance around the room.

Perry is a welcome alternative to the predictable and the overly familiar. If you know what's good for you (and chances are, you don't), pick up Saturday Morning Sweet Shoppe and be prepared to be won over.