And so, whilst End-Of-Year lists scatter all around us, ANBAD introduces the final Midweek Mixtape of the year. And, as always, putting it together each week has been a guilty shove-’em-in-and-see-what-happens pleasure.

Star of this year’s Mixtape show has been Britpop’s King Of Cheese. No, not, Liam Gallagher – although his Beady Eye gigs have had a distinct whiff of Stilton about them – but Alex James, a man who spent a million pounds on Champagne whilst being the Handsome One Out Of Blur.

He’s been pouring his own-brand molten cheese over a relevant person each week. As a special treat for Christmas, this week he’s aiming for cheese upon cheese upon cheese: Cheese-ception.

MIXTAPE!

FIRST! Super Clarks have an endearing quality that is hard to pin down – but such categorisation is, as always, needless when the songs are good fun. And that’s exactly what Interesting, Not is: a polyrhythmic shudder of grooves, excitement and jangling.

SECOND! Little Chestnuts are, like Lisboans Super Clarks, a Euro-band of the sort I always feel pangs of guilt and empathy towards because I know that they’re being cruelly overlooked by an Anglo-centric press. Fight the power, kids: and enjoy this super-classy slice of slick pop from Genova.

THIRD! Greater Alexander isn’t gloomy – his records just make him seem that way. Any Way Out Of It‘s acoustic pitter-patter pummels your mind with a thousand tiny, fluffy bean bags, and, briefly, time stands stiller than still. Aaaaah.