Pigeon Lane

"How Sweet, How Kind..." CDR

Series Two Records

Genres: indie pop, folk-pop, lo-fi

Köln, Germany

May 14, 2009

Pristine German indie popsters Pigeon Lane create sweet songs that are equal parts Belle & Sebastian and Sea Urchins. Lead singer / songwriter Thomas Weber is responsible for the bulk of How Sweet, How Kind..., and he certainly has a knack for crafting cheery twee-folk nuggets. Acoustic guitar and those soft, sort of B&S-esque high-pitched vocals are what you can expect, along with occasional piano swells and strings flourishes.

What is most striking about How Sweet, How Kind... is the remarkable quality and clarity of its individual songs, something not always encountered on lo-fi CDR releases. This is a very polished batch of compositions, and several songs rank as truly superb. "So Glad," for example, is a brilliantly fluent, mellow ballad that makes for perfect mixtape fodder. Meanwhile, unconventional duet "Wall of Blankets" is loose and carefree, yet blessed with a subtly infectious melody. Other highlights include Arab Strap-influenced "All Together" and Robyn Hitchcock-esque oddball "Flowers in my Garden." Of course, not every track excels (mild "Teardrops," Ocean Blue tinged "Blossoms"), but aside from a few disappointing tracks near the end, this album ranks as one of the better lo-fi pop releases I've come across recently.

pigeon lane's myspace

84%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 12 tracks, ltd to 300 copies, distributed by the label, released Nov 26, 2008]