Popular Workshop - Her Birthday

With Albini slapped all over it like a Nike badge, there's no escaping what Popular Workshop are going for on this single: danceable indie but with the alternative credibility generally afforded to those noises escaping Electrical Audio. It does succeed, to some extent. The single is well-rounded pop, shorn of much fat, with some cynical and smile-inducing lyrics. It treads a similar, if less overdriven, path as Dundee's late Albini-disciples Alamos. Interestingly, the cover of Belle and Sebastian's Electronic Renaissance arguably gives its A-side counterpart a run for its money. They're not reinventing the wheel, but Popular Workshop have done a satisfactory job this time around. [Austin Tasseltine]