I have speculated for a long time on ANBAD that so many new bands are, through no fault of their own, victims of rock and pop music’s exhausting search for novelty.

Where do you go now for inspiration? Which stone has been left unturned? Which narrowest niche genre has not been prised open and mutated into the new Pop Sound Of Now?

So, a moment of consideration for the plucky new bands of today and what they are tilting at.

Lawks – here’s what Minidresses are aiming for:

“With these tracks, I guess we’re trying to find our space between a lot of today’s shoegaze-y dream pop bands (Blouse, Ringo Deathstarr, Tamaryn…), jangly Flying Nun bands (esp. Look Blue Go Purple, The Chills, and Sneaky Feelings), and other old favorites (Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, Galaxy 500, etc.)”

It’s a bold pitch. I was just thrilled to see the Chills get a namecheck, frankly.

I’m not sure if the gap between those bands is a simple target at all, or even distinct enough to hit, but god love ’em if Minidresses haven’t kind-of landed just about exactly where they wanted to.

Minidresses are teetering on the right side of the lo-fi precipice that seperates ‘lo-fi fun’ with ‘not being in time’, and huge kudos to them for this.

Watching You is simply lovely, exuding the kind of semi-deliberately naive charm that makes you wonder who, exactly, is taking who for a ride here.

By the time the song dissolves into cavernous, noodley echoes, you’ll not even care; instead you’ll be rapt. The utter sincerity of Watching You and  Minidresses’ efforts punctures any doubts that this is pseudo-ironic, faux-nostalgic bullshit.

Instead, it is – and they are – simply winsome.

MORE: minidresses.bandcamp.com