It is always fantastic for me to see great new bands come out of cities and town where I have history. That may be Glasgow, Edinburgh and London for the most part, but in The Candle Thieves we have a cutesy indie duo coming out of Peterborough, very close to where I spent the majority of my school years. But that doesn’t mean my support of them isn’t warranted. In The Sunshine EP they have put together 4 tracks of blissful toy-inspired indie pop.

They get straight into the child-song-like melodies in the opening “The Sunshine Song”, a wonderfully blissful reminder of simpler and younger days, that would certainly have found its way onto any of my summer playlists.

“My Love Will Clap It’s Hands For You” shows their more mellow side with cracked vocals, harmonies and soft synths.

But more interesting is The State That I’m In”, which is a ballad of the despair of unrequited love with restrained and reverb soaked vocals along with what sounds like a xylophone or glockenspiel, a knowing hat-tip to early Eels.

The beautiful “Lonely Lonely Lonely” closes off the EP, with Scott and Glock showing us how beautiful a traditional ballad can be. Less of the toy instrument influences here as they remember and obsess on a past love lost.

All in all, it’s a endearing introduction to the band that has been loved by The Guardian, toured fan’s gardens over the summer, and has given away seeds with record purchases at their live shows.

Buy The Sunshine EP @ Alocopop on CD or as MP3s

The Candle Thieves – Sharks and Bears
(You can also download the MP3 of Pull Back The Moon by joining thier mailing list)