TTIHPLTY part 2; Boys with guitars

I have now decided my mode for these. Two at a time, under a very loose theme. The next two are banded together by actually being of a very similar ilk. Both make what I often describe as 24-carat indiepop. The names of these two favourites are Pete & the Pirates and Almedal, and they keep the corner of my taste that will be forever Indie jumping around the bedroom.

The appeal of Pete & the Pirates' debut Little Death is simple to define. It is full of really good songs. The scratchy production is actually a virtue, imbuing the album with a raw, ingenue quality lacking from, say, The Holloways' output which sounds, ahem, somewhat hollow. This, of course, is a necessity on a cheaply made record, but it really works here.  Seven of the top ten most played songs on my ipod come from this album, which goes to show how much I have gotten out of it. I think it is an apt album for many a scenario. I was thinking of picking out a couple of songs to direct you towards here, but really, they are all of a remarkably high standard. They aren't over the top or highfalutin in any way, it is just pure, pretension-free goodness. I've been recommending this album to friends since February, and I'm yet to receive a complaint. I do have one nagging criticism however, that i can't bring myself to leave out. The album is just one track too long. Song For Today would have been a lovely ending, and we all would have been happy with 12 great songs, but instead the incongruous Bright Lights is tacked on. It's not a bad song, but terribly sequenced and thus actually impairs an otherwise almost faultless little record. A trifling concern though, I must admit.

Almedal's Från Och Med Nu Och 20 Dagar Framat is a different prospect altogether, despite the fact that I classify it in the same bracket as Little Death. This is a subtle, restrained album of love songs in Swedish. With a singer whose voice can take a bit of getting used to. Don't all rush at once... 

I know that I may not be selling this very well, but this is an album of my favourite sounds, perfectly blended. Chiming guitars, trumpets, great drums, synths, yes thanks! I fell for them initially at Emmabodafestivalen, where watching them felt like an all-time highlight. I rushed to buy the CD on my return to Norrköping. One listen revealed that there are some wonderful songs on this album,  some lifelong mixtape fodder, i'd wager, and I still listen to it constantly. I did have a respite following the heartbreak, but as soon as the Season Of Good Will To All Men kicked in, it came straight back into the reckoning, by virtue of its curiously Christmassy vibe. It has remained on heavy rotation ever since, so the vibe's not preclusively festive.

In fact, this is a mourning, doleful record at times, yet uplifting always. 

Just ignore the bollocks I've written and check it out. You might love it. 

The others I'd like to shine a light onto, more for next year in this case, are Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds, whose first two singles last year were both belters, and Blighters, who were Monroes, whose brilliant demo Boys in Motion actually stands up to the best that orange juice had to offer, in my humble opinion.