Bandages for the Heart

When it comes to Lacrosse's second full-length, 2009's Bandages for the Heart, any worries about the potential for sophomore blahs are blasted away with the opening strains of "We Are Kids." Between Nina Waha's pixie-like vocals and the sparkling synth and guitar work that just smacks of the Cure, it's the kind of tune that wedges itself into that weird border territory of adolescence, capturing that heady feeling of anxiousness ("We are kids and we can't decide") bound up with the thrill of discovery. Similar to fellow Scandinavians I'm from Barcelona, Lacrosse appear to be equipped with a magical, rainbow-tinted force field that gives them license to sound completely childlike and zany and to sound completely believable while they do it. Because honestly, it's just plain weird when "All the Little Things That You Do" suddenly dives into a caveman-style chant (yes, this really happens) — but for some reason it works. Maybe it's just that Lacrosse seem so genuinely sunny, naïve, and sweet-hearted. They're pretty much irresistible even when they're at their most sappy and heartsick ("I See a Brightness") or painfully earnest ("Bandages for the Heart") — heck, they even manage to pull off a love song about unicorns and robots ("It's Always Sunday Around Here"). If you're in the mood for some handclappy, glockenspiel-embroidered, bubblegum and synth pop-infused tunes reminiscent of the Shout Out Louds and the Golden Dogs, Bandages for the Heart might be just what you're looking for.