The New Mendicants
Album: Into The Lime
Label: One Little Indian
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.indian.co.uk/site/artists/the-new-mendicants

"It's free, it's free…" goes the refrain of Sarasota, the opening track on this thoroughly charming debut set from Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and Joe Pernice and Mike Belitsky of the Fannies' closest Massachusetts' cousins, the Pernice Brothers. It's an apt enough intro to the quality of the sound as these fellows give full vent to their shared passions for tuneful sunkissed pop, mordant lyrics and grinning.

The theme continues into A Very Sorry Christmas with its ringing guitars, an underdog anthem for the festive season; while Cruel Annette reimagines The Byrds with white bread harmonies and peachy, bleachy teeth. The spikey Shouting Match could kick-start its very own power pop revolution and the cover of Sandy Denny's late gem By The Time It Gets Dark pays a due in good heart.

Of course the common ground for all this tuneful banter is more obviously bound by Big Star, Posies, The Zombies and Bert Jansch - great big melodies, powerful harmonies and the perfect counter balance of Norman's sweetness with Tom's rather more dour delivery, most notably on the wintry self-murder ballad Follow You Down.

Out on 20 January, there's such magic in the grooves of Into the Lime, the kind of magic that makes me glad to have been a teenage member of that old fan club and a middle-age member of this one. The first essential album of 2014? Well, yeah… pure class.

Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk