British pop trio (recently expanded to quartet) fronted by the gorgeous and
bespectacled Darren Hayman.
Initially compared to the Violent Femmes and Billy Bragg due to the spindly, acoustic trio sound of their earlier recordings, their sound has developed over the course of three studio albums (and one excellent compilation) to become considerably lusher. Their distinctive sound matched with Darren's lyrics about girls, broken hearts (and more recently) singalongs about Thatcher's death has contributed to making them a band almost as obsessed about as Belle and Sebastian or even the Smiths. Their recent "Good Fruit" single featured the dulcet tones of the very crushworthy indiepop pinup girl Amelia Fletcher.
Darren Hayman : Vocals, guitar
Antony Harding : Drums, vocals
John Morrison : Bass
Jack Hayter : Pedal Steel, Violin, etc
Albums (all released on the Too Pure label):
Breaking God's Heart (1998)
The Fidelity Wars (1999)
Boxing Hefner (A compilation of early singles) (2000)
We Love The City (2000)
Dead Media (2001) - their first foray into analogue electronics