Erland And The Carnival - Nightingale

I know these have been kicking about for ages but I think this is the first time I've actually heard them. They're better than I thought they'd be! Way better actually. I mean, apparently the first album was Paul Weller's album of the year.. Not exactly the kind of accolade which generally gets me sprinting to the turntable but now I can see that 'Der Modvater' was doing good work for a change. Turns out E&TC are into producing fine arty indie pop shot through with a slightly folky sensibility, some psychedelic dabs and enhanced with light electronic flourishes and tasteful production trickery. To my ears this particular album seems to have a bit of a concept to it with its overall fairgroundy feel. Oh shit, I guess that's where the 'Carnival' bit comes from.. Now I feel thick as shit, sorry. I'm getting a bit of a Zombies feel from it all now that I think about it. I just read Simon Tong from the latter-day Verve is in these which may be of interest. Cool sleeve too.