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Runaway : ANNE SOLDAAT (from the album In Another Life – 2009)

The name supposes that this could be another Swedish chanteuse, but Anne is in fact a Dutch singer/guitarist and a bloke to boot. A fine album of great songs and excellent guitar playing. Clearly, the Beach Boys were as popular in Holland as elsewhere

Seven Stories : THE LUXURY (from the album This Is Why We Can’t Have NiceThings – 2007)

Power-pop band from Boston (the American one) obviously heavily influenced by Britrock, especially Oasis and Coldplay. Having said that, the band that immediately springs to my mind when listening to this track is REM

Signs And Wonders : ANIMAL KINGDOM (from the album Signs And Wonders – 2009)

From South London,and another band influenced heavily by Coldplay (rarely a good thing), redeemed by the quirkiness of the lyrics and the chiming guitar work. Not the best album of 2009 by any means, but there are some great tracks to be found on it. The title track is one of them