The Softlightes: Say No! to Being Cool, Say Yes! to Being Happy (Modular)

There is always a place for translucent gentle pop, and it doesn't come much more summer-kissed or amusing than this debut from a Californian band which obviously also possesses a sense of humour: titles here include The Robots in My Bedroom Were Playing Arena Rock; The Microwave Song; If The World Had Cookies; and Black Skinheads in White Pants.

Purists and cynics will doubtless recoil at their blend of breathy pop, vocoder vocals, shameless borrowings (A Town Named Blue is kinda spot-the-song), and sometimes twee lyrics.

But helmsman Rob Fountenberry's previous band (The Incredible Moses Leroy) won support from Cody ChestnuTT who was a fan, and they worked with some heavyweight names.

There are undeniable connections with Flaming Lips for sure, but there is a very English feel to some of this too, more akin to those Anglobands who look to California and make their own take on it from a distance.

Even though Fountenberry lives in San Diego it's almost as if he an outsider looking in -- and that makes all the difference.

Cute and charming in a lowkey way. The title says it all.