Track Listing

1. Cartoon Heroes
2. Around the World
3. Freaky Friday
4. We Belong to the Sea
5. Apple a Day
6. Halloween
7. Good Guys
8. Back from Mars
9. Aquarius
10. Cuba Libre
11. Bumble Bees
12. Goodbye to the Circus

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35462 in Music
• Brand: MCA
• Released on: 2000-03-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
On Aquarium, Aqua were "Barbie Girls"; now they're "Cartoon Heroes." A slight change in context for their second album, but, essentially, it's business as usual. And let's not forget that Aqua do this slapstick kiddie-pop thing with a lot more panache than their shamelessly novelty Euro-goons peers. The relentless zaniness of Aquarius may sometimes be cloying, especially those too-chirpy chipmunk voices on "Cartoon Heroes," but there's no denying that this is a pop group that really lives this pop lark--shaved-headed frontman Rene really does talk in that comedy growl and frontwoman Lene really doesn't wear more than a stretched scrap of PVC whenever she leaves the house. This makes Aquarius quite likeable, actually--especially on the slapstick-trance workout of "Around the World," which even manages to squeeze in a brief geography lesson. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

Two Words: Guilty Pleasure.
Anybody who knows me knows this is not my kind of music. I'll be a rocker 'till the end. They know this. However, while rock can be hard and loud or soft and sweet, there is a need for a break from drums and guitar every once and a while, whether rockers admit it or not. Everbody has a guilty pleasure band - the music they love but nobody else believes it. Mine is definately Aqua. This is what pop music should be. Actually, if all pop music was like this I'd probably get sick of it and hate it. But it's such a sweet thing to take a break from the all harsh male voices and electric guitar - as much as I love it - and listen to some witty and ironicly humorous energetic female (and kinda creepy macho man) vocals backed up by electronic works of art. The songs on this CD, as well as Aqua's other release are all differnt and original. Some of the best songs on this album, most noteably "Cartoon Heroes" and "We Belong to the Sea," provide for some of the best pop songs every written. There's a little pop in all of us - admit it or not, you've found yourself singing along with pop at some point. Aqua, though, probably shouldn't be called "pop." That places them alongside Britney Spears, where they do not belong. Aqua have their own genre and their music is just downright fun and quite a blast. Pick it up, wether you're a pop fan of maybe, if Aqua is your guilty pleasure too.

I Love This CD!
I enjoyed Aquarium, Aqua's first album. All the songs tended to sound kind of the same, but that was OK with me because I liked that sound. Having heard "Cartoon Heroes" before I bought Aquarius CD, I knew that I was going to like the CD. However, I never suspected just how much I'd like it. Musically, Aqua has grown quite a bit between its first and second CDs. The songs on Aquarius are much more diverse than the ones on Aquarium. Although the group is clearly moving into new territory, it hasn't abandoned what it knows how to do right: Recording songs that are both catchy and fun. (Not since the B-52s' last CD have I had as much fun listening to a CD.) Besides the songs themselves, I also got a lot of enjoyment from the photos in the CD jacket, which show the group members doing all sorts of space-hero stuff. I've also learned that for those with computers (and who reading this doesn't have one?), the CD has the "Cartoon Heroes" video on it. (I'll have to check that out as soon as I get home.) The bottom line: If you like music that's fun and catchy, I can't see how you wouldn't enjoy this CD.

The 'good guys' are back (from Mars)...
If we had any doubts as to whether the Danish band could turn out another album to rival Aquarium, those doubts are gone.

After listening to the whole cd for the first time, you think, what IS this? You're not sure what to think...whether to scream or applaud. You turn off the cd player, walk away...and good Lord, it's stuck in your head. "We are the cartoon heroes..." And you can't get it out.

Aqua has an amazing skill for turning out a catchy song. It's about cartoons, for heaven's sake. And bees. And yet you can't get it out of your head. You find yourself singing it. And playing it. And playing it again. Eventually you admit you love it. Aquarius has all the variety of Aquarium, and twice the staying power.

'Cartoon Heroes' is a fun, bouncy, young-feeling tune to rival 'Barbie Girl'. 'Around the World'...well, it's just cool. 'Freaky Friday' is hysterical country comedy. 'We Belong To The Sea' is sweet and the perfect Aqua slow song. 'An Apple A Day' is cliches with a twist. 'Halloween' is a more-comical-than-scary cross between Barbie and Scream (and here I have to compliment Lene on her perfection of the horror-flick-chick/damsel-in-distress voice over the phone). 'Good Guys' blends the classic 'good guys and bad guys' theme with a hint of disillusionment. 'Back from Mars'...well it's up to interpretation. 'Aquarius' is beautiful and mysterious. 'Cuba Libre' is an upbeat salsa track reminiscent of 'Heat of The Night'. 'Bumble Bees' is a cute, flirty metaphor. 'Goodbye To The Circus' is the closing track in which Aqua bids us farewell in their own peculiar way.

Rene, with his Ken-goes-bad-guy edge, and Lene, with her candy-sweet little-girl voice, pull off an another amazing vocal sensation. It grows on you.

It's weird. It's fun. It's quirky. In a word, it's Aqua.