With a name that sounds like something that Disney might do – complete with folks dressed up as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and the gang – Holidays on Ice is a collaborative project featuring Anie Hart from Frente/Splendid, Leonardo’s Bride Dean Manning, Naomi Radom from Coda, and Tracey Ellis from Knievel. The unknown quantity in the band is Jasper Fenton, son of Crow’s Peter Fenton.

So, essentially, it’s like a who’s who of mid-1990s Australian pop, complete with a guest spot from Abby Dobson (Leonardo’s Bride). However, Playing Boyfriends and Girlfriends is a long way removed from the sound of Frente or Leonardo’s Bride or Knievel, with the opening “Holidays” more reminiscent of something that Stereolab or Saint Etienne might come up with.

So, no, Holidays on Ice don’t sound particularly original on their debut album. “Sailor Girl” by comparison is a fuzzy lil’ rocker, before “Get Up and Fall Down” reintroduces loops, and xylophone from co-producer Justin Stanley. It’s interesting in that Holidays on Ice is very much of its time – this is pop music with an electronica heartbeat – but that the songs are so damn good that it’s essentially fairly timeless.

Of course, music like this lives or dies by the quality of the songs – and in Dean Manning, Holidays on Ice have a songwriter par excellence. “I’m Only Sleeping” was an ageless pop song, and whilst there’s nothing on Playing Boyfriends and Girlfriends that quite matches that, you get the sense that this is just the beginning for the collective. Instrumentals “Guana Banana” and album closer “Sleigh” show what unbridled joy Manning feels in creating lovely little musical moments, while the vocal tracks are strong throughout. Let’s hope that Playing Boyfriends and Girlfriends isn’t merely a one-off, and that there’s more to come from this exciting group.