THEY ARE
Canadian collective fronted by husband and wife Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek.
SOUNDS LIKE
Spiritualized on a leash, blending shoegaze guitars, girl group vocals, understated horns and Beach Boys harmonies into a psychedelic pop soup.
RELEASE
Albatross (12") Feb 8
The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night Mar 8
TRIVIA
Their upcoming album was mixed on a desk used for Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti.

HE IS
the magnificently-named honey-voiced frontman of Guillemots.
SOUNDS LIKE
one of the epic pop symphonies from Guillemots' beautiful debut album Through the Windowpane, rather than their annoyingly noisy follow-up Red.
RELEASE
Fly Yellow Moon Jan 18

THEY ARE
Florida trio devoted to cinematic Bacharachian pop.
SOUNDS LIKE
NYC lounge poppers Ivy or perhaps St. Etienne without the electronics. See also recent C11 includees Codeine Velvet Club.
RELEASE
Memoirs at the End of the World Aug 25 (US) Feb 1 2010 (UK)
TRIVIA
The Ivy connotations strech further than the sound, as the album is mixed by Ivy founder Andy Chase (who even runs the label to which they are signed).

THEY ARE
Dork rock veterans currently out with their 7th album, mercifully not called Weezer.
SOUNDS LIKE
A classic power pop take on The Jam's Town Called Malice, and a massive step up from the braindead dross that was Beverly Hills and Pork and Beans.
RELEASE
Raditude Nov 3
CLEVER MOMENT
"We watched Titanic and it didn't make us sad" at 1:10. Anyone else recalling the love montage from The Naked Gun? :D

THEY ARE
Crowded House-frontman Neil Finn and an all-star crew of family and friends, reconvening seven years after the first 7WC event to record a double album's worth of songs written specifically for the project. The line-up include KT Tunstall, Johnny Marr, members of Radiohead and Wilco, as well as Finn's brother, wife and two sons.
SOUNDS LIKE
The album opener, the Neil Finn-sung Too Blue, is co-written by Jeff Tweedy and Johnny Marr and is a piece of classic soulful pop that easily could have featured on the latest Crowded House-album.
Other highlights includes Tunstall's Hazel Black and Don McGlashan's Long Time Gone.
RELEASE
The Sun Came Out Aug 31
TRIVIA
The album's proceeds go to Oxfam.