Close Lobsters

 
A fizzy guitar pop band from Scotland that, while admittedly derivative of others in the C86 scene, did successfully produce a couple sunny, cheerful albums and a smattering of singles and EPs before turning in.


What divides Close Lobsters from the contemporaries that paved the way for them—the Smiths, Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, the Monochrome Set—is limited, and it's hard to imagine their touchstones weren't the usual suspects, like the Byrds and the Buzzcocks, but all of what they produced is a joy, and they occasionally hit on something quite special, like when they veered into funkier, more psychedelic territories (e.g. "Knee Trembler") or Americana-inflected shoegaze (e.g. "Don't Worry").