Sneaky Pete's

Pale Blue Eyes’ excelsior modernist pop music comes from Devon and Sheffield – via stop-overs in Iceland, KLF-land and the Steel City home of British electronic music.

The Totnes, UK-based trio share their name with a classic Velvet Underground song, but their output barely resembles the work of a traditional rock band, let alone Lou Reed et al. There’s no wild abandon at play here, no drug-fueled jam sessions; instead, their affection for meticulously placed drum machines, nostalgic synths, and reverb-soaked riffs positions them closer to a new-wave revival outfit, Echo and the Bunnymen and Cocteau Twins being the two biggest influences.

Their new album Souvenirs, produced by Dean Honer (Róisín Murphy, I Monster, the Human League) is a simple, but laser-focused, blast from the past, faithfully restoring all the textural and atmospheric accouterments we associate with that era without distracting from the novel hooks, which provide the band with a unique angle by which to navigate a well-trodden path—and stand out from the pack as a result.