"Life and death and fear." That's what Joy Zipper's Tabitha Tindale says when asked what the band's music is all about.

Phew! Take a step back, inhale, exhale, come in again. "A music writer said we're like a candy apple with a razor blade inside," she says, "which I think is a really great way to put it."

Despite the band's love of The Beach Boys and The Beatles, Joy Zipper's music is much darker. When you factor in their other influences - My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab, The Velvet Underground - you start to get a sense of what the band is really about.

Tabitha and Vinny Cafiso met at a battle of the bands competition in Long Island. He was in a band, she offered to manage them.

But Tabitha only had eyes for Vinny and soon, the pair were a couple and making music together.

Second album, American Whip, is all lackadaisical strings and sunny vocals. It's like The White Stripes would be if they ditched the blues and listened to The Beach Boys all day.

But beneath the sunny exterior, the darkness still loiters just under the surface. "Vinny lost his father when he was five," says Tabitha, "and his mother died a few years ago. He's kind of alone, and alone with his thoughts a lot of the time."

"But acid freed my mind during a very depressed period of my life," Vinny picks up, "and now it's great to be rid of it. The music isn't as morbid as some of the words."

Imagery is important to the band. Vinny admits that he and Tabitha are "flowering it up a bit to hide the darkness underneath". Imagine Desperate Housewives, Six Feet Under or The Sopranos transmogrified into music. The dark heart of the American Dream told through everyday tales with a dark twist.

The blackness just zipped up, allowing the joy to shine.

Starts 8pm, tickets cost £8. Call 01273 673311.