The great land of Copenhagen has a real DIY prodigy under its city lights. Gunnar Cleemann is one of the most well rounded musicians you will ever come across. He writes, plays, directs, breathes music. His lyrics are philosophical, but simple enough to refrain from being too pretentious (suck on that Oberst!) And we can’t forget his wonderful vocals, reminiscent of early solo Clapton. 45 Minutes Mostly About Caring is so much more than the title would insist. It is a triumphant display of …

Kristian Svensson crafts some pretty chill pop music, encompassing a space between the drone-heavy, space-friendly reverb and the upbeat-yet-emotional electronic. His latest work as And Oh, So Slowly He Turned is By Some Godforsaken Lake Up North. Packed with lovable lo-fi pop songs (easily recognizable as Swedish) and containing light hints of experimentation, the album opens with a light guitar riff and full-bodied (but mixed down) percussion in “Demensia”. The vocals, like the percussion, are eerie and soft — they fit in the background while the instrumentation …

Christopher Öström is yet another great underground Swedish artist to find his way into the Series II Records family. Öström’s music leans toward the electronic side of folk pop and his romantic vocals find Audio Loading, Please Wait… joining the ranks of artists like Electric President. But Audio Loading is much more twee.

When laptops are added to folk-pop music, the resulting melodies are (more often than not) atmospheric. Cajita begin nearly every song on The Ellipsis with those swirling, spacey sounds. Featuring a variety of instruments, from trumpet to standard guitar, Cajita appears much more a group than one man with an occasional partner. Jay Chakravorty takes on the brunt of creation and performing, including all programming, guitars, keys and vocals. The trumpet is resigned for Jim Cornick.

After debuting on Series II Records joint 3″ series club with Eggnog Records, The Argyle Wishlist return with their infectious lo-fi indie pop. My Thoughts Exactly follows the twee-pop this Milwaukee, WI band has established as their trait over the past several years.

Death Valley Sleepers, despite a plural name, is one man — Tobias Winberg. Winberg, who hails from Denmark, writes songs that find themselves in the realm of highly infectious indie pop. The vocals are soothing and relaxed while the guitar, with an added power, delves into the psychedelic.

Allt Är Musik is somewhat of a rarity in that Andreas Sjögren, the primary force behind Allt Är Musik, sings in his native tongue. The typical Swedish artist tends to sing in English. On Skapelseberättelsen, Allt Är Musik creates lo-fi pop tunes that blend acoustic guitars with drone-ridden synths, the combination of which is quite peaceful.

The first time I heard Pigeon Lane, I thought it was a new project by Pelle Carlberg. But it quickly dawned on me that it indeed was not — Pigeon Lane’s sound is filled with similar amounts of pop, but the vocals (the trait most like Carlberg) are less humorous, less professional. Compared to Carlberg, Pigeon Lane fits a lower-fi profile. This suits them well; in a way, this style is comparable to early Starlet or early Acid House Kings.

In Wizard On Fire, Robert Church comes across as the twee stepbrother of The Radio Dept. “Old Friend” has that overly distorted slash mashed with reverb sound of the much loved Lesser Matters, but the fuzziness lacks the production that kept The Radio Dept. from being slapped with the lo-fi label. But that label works well here; it fits Robert Church & The Holy Community. For the most part, Wizard On Fire is decidedly more pop friendly than Le Rouge, Robert Church And The Holy Community’s last Series …

Aujourd’Hui Madame split their songwriting between English and French vocals, but the instrumentation is always pop. El Americano EP is the perfect representation of what makes international indie pop music great – it’s upbeat in all the right ways, and while there’s an obvious predilection toward France, it’s not really distinct to any particular nation.