Melancholy

Currently a little obsessed with Temporary Tattoo by the Smittens and Sellotape My Hands by Owl + Mouse, both of which are on the previously mentioned WeePOP! covers compilation. Both are extremely pretty if somewhat melancholy songs which make them absolutely perfect for listening to while thinking about something, or more likely someone, that you might be missing even if  you haven't entirely realised it at the time...
On a related (in some respects at least) note I'm still listening to Europe (the Allo Darlin' album rather than the 80's rock band of The Final Countdown fame, although Europe the band do rock as it happens) a lot. It is almost certainly my favourite album released so far this year and is getting better each time I hear it. Northern Lights is probably getting most plays right now with Some People Say running fairly close, possibly due to the excellent alternative version on the b side of the Europe 7" single. It seems that there might be an almost entire alternate version of the album that was recorded then scrapped somewhere...Hopefully it'll come to light as a bootleg (if they still exist somewhere) then get added as a second disc on the 20th anniversary reissue of the album!! Can't wait to see them play live again in September.

On a slightly different tack, I also like the album Shrines from Purity Ring. I've largely been listening to the actual cd so don't really know the names of the tracks particularly well yet, but can safely say that it is an extremely interesting mix of minimal electronic, periodically bass heavy, sometimes almost pop style, maybe ballad influenced things which works pretty well for me. I keep thinking that Take My Breath Away is going to break out of the last track...should probably check the notes to see if it's a sample or just my imagination...