Shorter is nearly always better. The Pixies managed to cram three verses and choruses into just 94 seconds on "Trompe le Monde" track "Palace of the Brine," and it became one of the best songs they ever wrote. And just look at almost any tune recorded by The Supremes or The Shangri-Las or Elvis Presley, or all The Beatles' early stuff (before they became rubbish) — nearly all within earshot of the magic three-minute mark. Five-minute-long J-pop ballads? No thanks. Make them a short, sharp shock — or keep them the hell away from our stereo.

Lo-fi female duo Puffyshoes know a thing or two about short. Guitarist Usagi Hops (real name: Natsuko Watanabe) and drummer/vocalist Neko Meows (Azumi Nakajima) are both physically diminutive, for one thing, which is one of many reasons they're so damn cute. But their new album, "Finally the Weekend," is short too; 19 minutes short, to be precise, despite offering 10 whole songs.

"We do seem to naturally write very brief songs," laughs Hops as we chat in a cafe in Tokyo's trendy Shimokitazawa district. "The 1950s and '60s songs we grew up with were usually very short, so maybe that's been a natural influence. Then again, both Neko and I have listened to J-pop songs since we were very small, so it's weird that we didn't end up writing some longer ones too."