Concrete Knives

Be Your Own KingBella Union ***

France isn't exactly renowned for its indie bands, but even if Concrete Knives fail to follow in an act such as Phoenix's footsteps, they can revel in the fact that they've made a solid debut. Like a less wimpy Of Monsters and Men, the Caen quintet pursue a line in male/female-fronted indiepop that occasionally flirts with the solemn side of the genre (Greyhound Racing), but mostly sits snugly between peppy, lo-fi jangles (Bonholmer, Brand New Start). Instrumental track Roller Boogie pinpoints their sonic parallels in one fell swoop, with echoes of Edward Sharpe the Magnetic Zeros and folk-rockers The Lumineers freely abounding. Be Your Own King lacks a killer anthem to draw people in, but if easygoing tunes with multi-voiced choruses are your thing, you could do a lot worse. concreteknives.com

Download:Roller Boogie, Bornholmer