Pale Honey – Youth

Guitar-plus-drums duo does scuzzy dream pop. Not, by any stretch of the imagination, designed to appeal by dint of its novelty, but Pale Honey force enough goodwill to squeeze in just before we slam the door on one more over-subscribed sub-genre. Capable and likeable rather than particularly accomplished, Youth is serviceable guitar pop. The arrangements are bare and largely distortion-free, so credit for not hiding behind the chancers' cheapest trick.

As a result Youth sells itself as a dialled-down, elementary set. All told, it works rather well. But because it relies on dynamics rather than melodics, don’t expect miracles. There's nothing for the indie disco here. But, when they channel the PJ Harvey of Stories From the City… on Lonesome – and Tuva Lodmark's unforced, languid vocals have a touch of the Polly Jeans – Pale Honey make a convincing enough case for now. [Gary Kaill]