The Loves - December Boy

‘Cool’ just isn’t a word you’d use to describe The Loves. Everything from the sickeningly lovely name to their dated-but-still-kooky image screams “NOT COOL!” like a hysterical Gok Wan on a bad hair day.

But, strangely, ‘December Boy’ is just about good enough to pull it off. With jangly guitars, saccharin backing vocals and irritatingly jovial plinkety-plonkety piano a-plenty, it’s a glistening slice of unabashed 60s-influenced pop. On first listen, it sounds as though this track could be a strong contender for the entirely imaginary accolade of ‘Happiest Song of the Year’, but listen more closely and you’ll hear that the lyrics are wistful (“December boy, why you look so sad?”), the harmonies are melancholy-tinged, and the piano - well, to be honest the piano is still downright annoying.

‘December Boy’ is by no means ‘cool’. But in a world where absolutely everybody is trying to be ‘cool’, maybe that’s no bad thing.