The best neo-new-wave albums don't merely mimic the sounds of the eighties -- they bring back memories of bands you'd completely forgotten.

With Domesticated, Yours Truly have done an excellent job of kick-starting my old brain. The bouncy grooves assembled by Linda Smith and Paul Baroody evoke clear memories of the Human League -- but it's the bells that killed me. When Smith's girlish, breathy vocals combine with the clang of tubular bells, Yours Truly sound uncannily like Book of Love.

Remember Book of Love? If you were a Depeche Mode fan in the mid-eighties (and it's nothing to be ashamed of compared to that emo kid next to you, who probably has a New Kids cassette stashed in the back of his closet), you probably do, as BoL were a fixture opening act on Depeche Mode US tours for a couple of summers. Their anthemic synth-pop tunes were liberally layered with clanging bells, to the point where they probably had to pay royalties to Mike Oldfield. But it worked well, giving them a distinctive, club-friendly sound -- albeit one that played itself out rather quickly.

Yours Truly press the Book of Love button, but they've got a lot more going on as well. The bells help to create a vaguely churchy mood, lending added mass (if you'll forgive the pun) to tunes like "Oh, I Have Sinned" and "Give Thanks and Praise". "Qualms and Misgivings," on the other hand, has a distinctly goth feel, with Smith's vocals dancing around the borders of Siouxsie Sioux territory. She invokes Missing Persons and early Ministry on "Psychopathic People", too -- and check out the bubblegum-via-New Zealand pop tune "Someone Else is Me" for an inspired melody.

Domesticated succeeds because Smith and Baroody kept it simple. There's no complex social commentary hidden in the lyrics (or at least I didn't find any). There are no attempts to out-hip other bands by using only the most obscure keyboards and effects. It's clear that Yours Truly honestly enjoys playing these songs -- and their attitude is infectious.

Mood-wise, Domesticated doesn't seem to be sure if it's happy or sad; for every "Sing and Be Glad" there's a "Bitterness", and you're encouraged to "Give Thanks and Praise" even though "Everything is Falling Down". Mind you, these are just the song titles. Unless you're waiting for waiting for Smith to scream raw-throatedly about a date-rape experience and the months of therapy that followed it, Domesticated is likely to make you very happy, in a grinning, bouncing sort of way.

It might even inspire you to hunt for some old Book of Love cassettes. Time heals all wounds.