Album: Chairlift, Something (Young Turks)

Call it geographical bad luck, but Chairlift were surplus to requirements when they emerged from Brooklyn amid a gaggle of hipster-electro types in 2008. So all credit to them for losing their cool, gaining some tunes, and heading into Proper Pop territory on album two.

And by that we mean pillowy synths, soaring melodies and an equal affection for Blondie and T'Pau. Somwhere between Ladyhawke and M83, it's 1980s fetishism all the better for the apparent lack of irony.