Slow Club

While it looked for a while like every other band to emerge from Sheffield were trying to emulate the city's most famous sons, the Arctic Monkeys, along came Slow Club to show they didn't need to. The duo of Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson embraced a classic pop aesthetic, with more than a touch of folk, and they've moved even further along that path with album number two. With Paradise, Slow Club have managed to shake off every one of the things people criticized them for, yet they haven't turned their back on the quieter moments, which were often interpreted as twee. For every rampant pop song, such as "Where I'm Waking," there's a slow building, brooding number such as "Horses Jumping" and they do both equally well. But when it comes down to it, the reason Paradise is such a success is because the band are more confident, and this record improves upon its very good predecessor in every way as a result. If only maturing was always this enjoyable.