9. Phony World Music name meaning “the peasants” (they are from Cardiff, Wales)
8. Song title: “”This Is How You Spell ‘Hahaha, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics'”
7. Do justice to illustrious lineage of UK art-school punks (Mekons, Joy Division, Buzzcocks, Art Brut)
6. Simultaneously sound totally sarcastic and totally earnest (“I spent the last seven years perched on the edge of my bed/ Scratching ‘I am incredibly sincere’ into my forearm”)
5. Cover one of my favorite Pavement songs (“Frontwards”), which sounds like a terrible idea, I realize
4. Super-catchy sing-along guitar pop bubbling up with weird musical ideas (glockenspiels, etc.) that occasionally make the songs sound like U.K. holiday-season radio novelty singles
3. Video featuring rainbows, feathers, kittens, and a unicorn
2. Could not be more cute but somehow not twee; acknowledge sexuality, the economy, adult reality generally
1. Great nerd boy/cute girl dynamics (“Four sweaty boys with guitars tell me NOTHING about my life”)
The album on Emusic
Ivan Kreilkamp 