each letter the postman brings might be from you

Give yourself a Christmas treat and download the free 'Today' EP by White Wishes from the Shelflife site or the group's Bandcamp page. White Wishes is the solo-project of Nikita Pavlov conjuring imagery of daydreams, cold Berlin winters and the warmth of sincerity into simple pop songs. Having come from a small town near St. Petersburg in Russia, Nikita escaped to Berlin where he met Australian bass player Andrew Knox and the pair soon started working together. They quickly recorded a bunch of songs before Andrew had to move back to Sydney. These recordings ended up being the "Hold Your Hand" single that was released for free online.

In the same year, Nikita returned to Russia where he then completed his first EP titled "Today" and had the songs fine tuned with the help of a friend named Maxim Polivanov of the band Motorama. White Wishes will release their international debut as part of Shelflife Record's "1000 Series" in Spring 2011, which will feature some new and re-worked older recordings.

For me, the 'Today' EP conjures up memories of the Cherry Red Pillows and Prayers era. An intimate set of songs that you can enjoy alone or in the company of someone special. Perfect listening as an accompaniment for all this snowy weather we have been having here in the UK.

****

Indefinitelyblue has posted a grumpy 'worst of 2010' which is pretty spot on in my book, apart from the inclusion of Shrag. I would have included Standard Fare instead. Plus every group or song featuring a ukulele. On the whole, I think it has been a pretty good year for indiepop with some great new bands like The Hobbes Fanclub and The History Of Apple Pie appearing on the scene. My favourite performance of the year was definitely The Sunny Street at Indietracks. That was something special.

To my small band of readers, hope you all have a great Christmas and best wishes for 2011.

White Wishes - Drops

White Wishes - All I Would Do