Shake my head

Seabear - "Arms"

I'm not too keen on this Reykjavik band's forthcoming album, The Ghost That Carried Us Away, but this little ditty is a gem--and a refreshingly far cry from what I'm used to hearing from Iceland. Of course, a consideration of the stuff beneath its saccharine cast might not yield the same insight one could extract from, say, a múm record; on the other hand, when do I ever say no to blissful, precious chamber pop?

The pedigree is unmistakable: Sufjan Stevens' candied vocals, perhaps imitated beyond flattery; the tweeness of the Softies; and the reverence for British folk that a thousand bands have capitalized on. This is better indie pop through chemistry.