Clearlake

It could have something to do with the class struggle, or a cultural predilection for camp, sappy songs, but the British have a knack for churning out slight, arty chaps who love to mumble about love and sadness. Clearlake’s Jason Pegg joins Jarvis Cocker and co. in this pantheon of pallid crooners with an EP of sweet musings on the Brit-boy experience. Redolent of mid-’80s rhythms the band chugs and billows on "Something to Look Forward To” and "Almost the Same,” the title track sounding suspiciously similar to Julian Lennon’s "Too Late for Goodbyes.” But if file sharing has taught us anything, it’s that rejoicing in one’s guilty pleasures is A-OK. I like this disc...it’s good.