The Besties: "Prison Song"

The Besties sent me a valentine. Now, my girlfriend wasn’t very happy about this – another girl’s unwanted affection, that she could probably handle, but a twee pop band? We’ve already had our fair share of fights over my long-term relationship with The Softies, not to mention my occasional flings with The Field Mice and Belle & Sebastian. But anyway, there it was, a pink envelope and a Hello Kitty card saying “we love coke!” I like hard drugs as much as the next rock critic, but (sorry Julie) I have a pretty big crush on The Besties.

Their debut album Singer opens with the immensely likeable “Prison Song,” which addresses an unfortunate pal: “Are you allowed to get postcards? I didn’t know,” sings the cutely clueless Marisa (or maybe it’s Kelly – God forbid a twee group actually includes liner notes). Regardless of who’s playing what, the song includes a jangly electric guitar (awesome), Casiotone (even better), male and female vocal harmonies (Keanu: “Whoa”) and best of all, keyboard drums jamming the double-clap rhythm. It’s low budget without sounding too lo-fi, silly without sacrificing cleverness and overall…hold on, I think that’s my girlfriend at the door.