Cineplexx
The dude behind Barcelona’s Cineplexx,Sebastian Litmanovich, began making records in the late 90s and in that time he’s explored the laptop electronic angle, the post rock angle, the moody soundscape angle with the occasional pop song thrown in for variety. On his 9th album Picnic he divested himself of almost all his previous sonic baggage and dove headfirst into indie pop, trading squiggles and bleeps for lush vocal harmonies and loads of jangle. He also roped in Norman Blake, Jad Fair and Duglas Stewart (which is pretty darn heavy company) and wrote a batch of melodic, misty and pastoral tunes that are about as lovely as can be. The album is a real unexpected treat, and Cineplexx are the kind of crush that might just bloom into a full on love affair. Here’s the first shot from Cupid’s bow: Belle & Sebastian

Summer Cats
Australia has always been a solid source of indie pop greatness (the Lucksmiths, Even as We Speak), but lately there’s been a steady stream of great sounds bubbling up from down there. Guy Blackman, Sly Hats, the Bank Holidays to name but a few. The Summer Cats have been around for a bit, made some good records (including one of the rare highlights of the Cloudberry catalog) and now have an entry in the Slumberland singles club (go here for details) that might be their best song yet. “Let’s Go” adds some punk energy to their drone-y, organ-led sound. It fairly leaps out of the speakers and portends great things for the group. Check their MySpace page for some good stuff.

Speedmarket Avenue
Almost everything you need to know about Sweden’s Speedmarket Avenue can be found in this video. Dramatic, rousing and full of fire, these guys have a new album on Elefant called Way Better Now. You should probably just head over and buy it now.

 
Cocoanut Groove
First off, the band name … it’s gotta go. These guys own it. Besides, it doesn’t really do justice to the pure pop beauty of the sound Olov Antonsson creates. Close to the aching sound of the Clientele, Antonsson adds a touch of sweet Swedish soul and a folkier sensibility to the pie. The debut album Madeleine Street is due out later this month, and if the samples on his MySpace page are to be trusted, it definitely will be worth the effort of tracking it down.

Action Biker
We first ran across Action Biker’s Sarah Nyberg Pergament as half of the folk pop duo The Dreamers, which she formed with Kevin Wright (of Always and Mr. Wright). Her solo work has no folk influence though, it’s all lo-fi pop with tinny drum machines, corny synths and quietly charming vocals. The jam is “Love for Sure,” but the rest of her album Hesperian Puisto holds many tiny, usually melancholy, treasures.
Here’s one of them: Love For Sure
 
Lamp
This Japanese trio has been making sublime bossa nova-inspired pop tunes since 2000 but no one outside of Japan has really noticed. We may not be the first to discover them, but consider this a wake-up call to the light as helium, 100% lovely sound of Lamp. Think a less frantic White Shoes & the Couples Company or perhaps a livelier Postmarks. If you run a label and are reading this, think about signing them up so by next summer there will be perfect music to soundtrack a day of lying around doing nothing but drinking lemonade by the glassful.

Bobby Baby
Busy as a bee, Ellinor Blixt has three excellent projects cooking. Under the name Bobby Baby name she’s recorded a couple years worth of sweet and melancholy pop electronica (downloadable here) that sometimes veers into mopiness but unfailingly remains wrapped up in tender melodies and held tight by Bobby’s warm vocals. She’s also recorded a fine album’s worth of quiet electro-folk with F.S. Blumm (as Bobby & Blumm) and started It’s a Musical with a guy named Robot. All projects worth investigating for sure. Here’s the video for “I Won’t Dance With You Baby Tonight”, the song that should have made Bobby a star!

 
Little My
Little My is a mysterious Welsh twee collective (rumors of Los Campesinos! involvement have been floated but not verified due to the animal costumes the band wears onstage) that comes by its name from the Moomin books, its sound from judicious use of glockenspiels and immersion in Pastels‘ records. The group’s label, the perfectly named Wee Pop, has released a couple of EPs and they are worth tracking down. Little My’s best song so far, “All But the Beeps Meep,” is a brilliantly wee and wobbly summer sing-along that will having you dreaming of a full length album (if you are still old-fashioned enough to dream of such things.)

The Sunny Street
The Sunny Street also have an entry in the Slumberland singles series. They sort of sound like the result of Black Tambourine selling off their distortion pedals, moving to France and getting all sophisticated. In other words, the duo (with the impossibly cool names Delphine and Remi) has songs that will hit you hard and will stick for ages. Between the sultry, dreamy vocals and the perfectly arranged, sweetly strummed backing, the Sunny Street is like a computer generated indie pop group destined to cause swooning and overheated blog posts (like this one!) all over the world.
Track down their debut EP on Lavender Records here (and be sure to check out Moscow Olympics while you’re there).

Eux Autres
Brother-sister duo from Portland Eux Autres released an excellent record on Happy Happy Birthday to Me at the very end of last year. It’s called Cold City and its quite good. Words, words, words….they mean nothing. Here’s some audio and visual proof instead: When I’m Up