Album: 1973, Bye Bye Cellphone (Blonde)

French trio 1973 hail from the same Versailles suburbs that spawned Daft Punk and Air, and share the latter's melodic sweetness, albeit with a firmer grasp of pop classicism.

Bye Bye Cellphone is a billet-doux to pristine Anglo-American pop of earlier eras, with echoes of The Beatles and The Beach Boys blended into the subsequent sleek perfection of Steely Dan and The Eagles. As they sing in tribute to "Vegas", "You are a dream, an American dream/ Ice cream and pills/ You're so easy to believe in". "September" features a candied balance of piano, mellotron, dulcimer, glockenspiel and featherbed harmonies; "Simple Song" rolls fluting mellotron, banjo and Gretsch guitar warmly together; and "Little Sis" occupies the intimate space shared between banjo, harmonium and pedal steel.

DOWNLOAD THIS Vegas; Bye Bye Cellphone; September; Simple Song