The Indie Anthology 79: essential songs

This section has suffered another unfortunate, unwanted hiatus (hard for me to find the time to write) but that's about to change today! So, in order to return to form in our Anthology I just have chosen a blissfully gorgeous tune from a very dear band of mine, and connected (or at least I'd like to think so) with this humble Blog. Let´s go to back to Scotland with The Hermit Crabs!

Song: Correspondence Course
Artist: The Hermit Crabs
Year: 2008

Time flies! Almost a decade since Mel Whittle and Co. penned this melancholic indiepop gem (ten years since the band appeared with the lovely 'Feel Good Factor' EP. Can't lie the Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura comparisons drove me to them... but these shy & melancholic crustaceans were about to make their own space in this blogger heart. A close call between 'About You Before', the glorious, infinite guitar work of 'On the Spectrum', I finally opted for 'Correspondence Course'. I guess it's because of the lush arrangements, leaded by the mesmerizing violin and the tricky distorted, warped, fragmented guitar. Or, the knockout chorus. Or the quirky and, let´s face it, considering Mel's honeyed voice, pretty adorable lyrics including band name-dropping and flirtation around playing music, and yet a hint of reflection, dare I say disappointment towards the end. Like my dear The Very Most (the connection between Mel and Jeremy has provided us many amazing tunes) or Monkey Swallows the Universe (sadly extinct, but Nat Johnson keeps doing music wonders quite regularly) to just name three, The Hermit Crabs (or Melanie Whittle) are one of these modest, not putting any airs on them whatsoever, even unfairly sidestepped bands, that you can always rely on.