Joy Zipper

“A music writer said we’re like a candy apple with a razor blade inside, which I think is a really great way to put it,” says Joy Zipper’s Tabitha Tindale. Vinny Cafiso, the other half of Joy Zipper (and Tabitha’s other half in real life), admits that he “doesn’t like to give away too much” and says he and Tabitha are indeed “flowering it up a bit to hide the darkness underneath.”

There is an exquisite sweetness to the Joy Zipper sound. The tone of American Whip, the duo’s second album (due Feb. 22 on Dangerbird Records), is set by “Christmas Song,” which boasts a dreamy chorus – “I love you more than a thousand Christmases/ I want you more than any gift I can think of” – that sticks like Juicy Fruit. The Alpha Centauri keyboard effects, super-groovy organ line and that one Summer Of Love guitar progression give way to ecstatic stacked harmonies recalling The Beach Boys and The Beatles, two of Tabitha and Vince’s favorite antecedents. Perhaps equally important to Joy Zipper’s sonic character, however, are bands like My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab, The Breeders and The Velvet Underground. And there’s this line, which is likely to keep “Christmas Song” off the lips of most carolers: “I feel you now ‘cause I’m deep in madness.”

The dichotomy driving Joy Zipper’s artistic modus operandi is reflected by Tabitha and Vinny themselves. Yes, he’s dark-haired and she’s blond. He’s introverted and she’s outgoing. He’s been playing music as long as he can remember; she started when she met him. But there’s a deeper, downright symbiotic, temperamental dynamic at the heart of Joy Zipper that gives it its hypnotic power.

Joy Zipper has had much success in the U.K. – American Whip was released there in March of 2004 – and Vinny and Tabitha spend half the year there. They spend the other half in their New York City home studio, but there is no discounting the central role Long Island has played in their lives.

Joy Zipper’s initial recordings were passed among friends until they landed with composer and DJ David Holmes, who played them on his U.K. radio shows. “They were songs we made in the bedroom,” Tabitha informs. “We got a deal and we released those demos as our album.” Despite these humble origins, the record established a presence among English tastemakers. The pump was well primed for American Whip, which inspired NME to say: “Imagine Jack ‘n’ Meg [White, of The White Stripes] taking a holiday from reincarnating the Delta blues and deciding to listen to Beach Boys records all day. Now you’ve got Joy Zipper.” The Times reported: “American Whip is packed with woozy, sun-soaked pop songs, dreamy Sixties psychedelia and sugary vocals.” Uncut spoke rapturously of “arrangements burnished with summery harmonies and silky strings,” and Q called Vinny and Tabitha “masters of an otherworldly perfect sound that seems to make time stand still.” The band also drew praise for recruiting Holmes and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields to participate (the former contributed production to “Christmas Song” and “Baby You Should Know,” among others; the latter added a spot of production and had a hand in mixing several tracks). Buoyed by the rave reviews, Joy Zipper toured with Air and Turin Brakes and collaborated with Zero 7 (on the compilation Another Late Night).

“I can do anything, play anything, for Tab and I don’t feel embarrassed,” Vinny says. “There’s no weirdness. It’s because I trust her. Making music with her is almost an escapist thing for me. It makes me feel relaxed and puts me in a little bit of a trance. It’s like the best drug you could ever imagine. There’s a lot of pressure on everyone, a lot of shit going on. It feels good to sometimes just let it go, escape that world and just stay inside this other one we’ve created together.”