Noah and the Whale

Noah and the Whale are simultaneously the type of band I really want to hate and really want to love.

They're ridiculously twee, very cutesy, popular enough that it doesn't require much effort to discover them or to become a fan, but indie enough that all the cool kids like them. They're the kind of band people namecheck to look like they're into music, but that are charting in the top 10, and everyone knows them.

But then their music is insistently catchy, touchingly earnest, and very well-written. It's ridiculously easy music to listen to, which may sound like faint praise, but it is, to be honest, something of an underrated skill - these are songs that, without even trying, get under your skin and into your head. Plus, they have Laura Marling on some songs, and she nearly always makes a song better just by being there (see the Mystery Jets for further reference).

But despite all that I can't love them, for all the reasons above!

I can however, heartily recommend their album, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down. Hopefully you can resolve this dilemma!