Though this album has been a frequent presence in my playlist for the last couple of years now, it still feels as fresh as ever. This is what I mean by good Pop: it's filled with beautiful and uplifting songs, with just the right touch of sophistication to make them stand out from the crowd. Moreover, while the songs deal with the typical pop subjects, the lyrics never quite fall into clichés or cheesiness. There is a bittersweet hint to them, revealing a mature and talented writer in Ben Gibbard. Who else could have written such a luminous song about nuclear holocaust ('We Will Become Silhouettes')?... Or two of the most original love songs of the decade ('Such Great Heights' and 'Brand New Colony')?...

I have been a fan of this Scottish duo since Music Has the Right to Children (a classic in Electronica). The Campfire Headphase is their last album; while some hard core fans have snubbed its more accessible and perhaps even more commercial sound landscapes, this does not detract from the fact that it is a beautiful album, rich in the dreamy, ethereal quality that makes the Boards of Canada an obligatory reference in Electronica. In fact, this album's more accessible facet might make it a gentler introduction to the band's music than the sometimes harsh Music Has the Right to Children or the somewhat eccentric Geogaddi (which I also very much like anyway!).

This is quite an old one, and an album I came back to every now and again. It's probably one of the most interesting albums to have come out from the post-Trip Hop era, and tracks like 'Destiny' or 'In the Waiting Line' should definitely be on anyone's list of the best pop songs ever.

There's something about the first chords of 'A French Galleasse' (the first track) that raises the hair in the back of the neck. This is an enthralling album, dense and mysterious. Even its genre is hard to pin down: describing it as 'experimental rock' does not do justice to its multilayered texture. Try it, but beware: you might get hooked.

I loved this album when I was a teenager. Even then I could tell that its lyrics are completely meaningless, but who cares when there's such raw, primal energy in these songs?...