FIZZ - The Secret To Life

FIZZ - the supergroup of Orla Gartland, dodie, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown - are about as close to musical theatre as you’re likely to get this side of Matilda. They dress like they’ve just been turfed off the set of a children’s TV programme; they’re utterly, profoundly uncool - and that’s exactly what makes ‘The Secret to Life’ such a giddily enjoyable listen. An album that takes the central escapism of lead single ‘High In Brighton’ and spreads it thick over 12 songs that quite literally include a choral paean to eating jam, FIZZ’s debut is a wide-eyed hit of sugary fantasia. ‘Close One’ is the nervous soundtrack sung by the female romantic lead, while ‘You, Me, Lonely’ makes for an angelic three-way lullaby. ‘The Secret to Life’ closes, as all good shows must, with ‘The Grand Finale’ in which “the curtain falls, the credits roll” - a song that’s only an Anna Kendrick guest spot away from being a Broadway smash. For many, FIZZ will be far too much; but for those who still hum Bugsy Malone in the shower, ‘Secret to Life’ will uncork something that’s pure ridiculous fun.