Album: Boy, Mutual Friends (Neu Ground)

Already a significant European success with millions of YouTube hits for their single "Little Numbers", this Swiss/German duo of instrumentalist Sonja Glass and singer Valeska Steiner are rather like a female version of Kings of Convenience, harnessing wry intelligence to reliable pop charm.

Delicate and durable, their songs are infectious confections of understated guitar, bass and piano figures. Mutual Friends, a loose song-cycle, is entirely winning, not least in the early stages when Steiner's ingénue charm works its most potent magic.

Download: This Is the Beginning; Waitress; Army