Where would The Shins and The Flaming Lips be without The Clean? (I feel a bad Boondock Saints pun coming on...) Old band, new stuff, same sound. The Clean have been around. Seminal Kiwi indie outfit, kind of a big deal in the 80s, direct pipeline to the likes of Yo La Tengo and pretty much every band to ever blend pop and psych. This is their first new record in nearly ten years. Light airy harmonies and single-note jangly electric. This is pretty, polite, well-behaved hazy indie pop.

try: 1-3, 9
FCC: 8

*1. accordion synth, laid back gypsy beat. thin girl vox -- no lyrics, just ‘ah’s. pretty, chill, delicate.
*2. takes ~3sec to start. shins vocals. jangle pop rhythm with tambourine. song title repeated ad nauseum.
*3. upbeat, but low. could be a bob dylan cover. mild-mannered electric and hi-hat heavy kit. nice backing vocals & guitar line in the chorus.
4. gentle but forward vocals a la the moody blues. tight acoustic rhythm under surf/spanish guitar.
5. honky rock n roll guitar, beatlesy. doubled w/ vocal melody. i’d say “vocals like stephen malkmus”... if pavement weren’t the ones influenced by the clean.
6. hoe-down starter build. otherworldly sound. maintains urgent beat despite having no destination. no vocals. strings, periodically.
7. cute, upbeat, jangly B&S / go-betweens sound.
8. FCC (“fuck” spoken almost inaudibly in intro) beachy chill-out, shakers, uke, keys. replete with bird chirps and relaxing water sound effects. no vocals.
*9. rockier, upbeat, warm tone repeated guitar riff. robot-effect vocals.
10. slow, pretty, blurry fuzz-fest. loose-string underwater guitar. grandaddy should cover this. fade out ~20 sec to end.