Kelley Stoltz - Below the Branches

It's rollicking, Spring-sweet pop from this San Francisco multi-instrumentalist. Nothing too melancholy here; just old-fashioned pop choruses, Brian Wilson harmonies, ramshackle piano and bursts of basement noise. Prank Calls is effortless and brilliant, the pop song The Strokes would write if they wandered into the Velvet Underground's Loaded sessions; Birdies Singing swings and lopes. Not everything's as great as those two – but it's hard to complain when you hear a singer-songwriter album so compellingly catchy, so focused on la-la-la and sing-along and so unbothered by angst. Walk down the street with Mr Kelley Stoltz and watch the snow just fade away, melting under your sunshine. [Sean Michaels]