Artist Spotlight: Born With Stripes

At a risk of sounding hyperbolic, it really is a long time since I've heard a song that's excited me as much as Born With Stripes' solitary tune 'You Stole The Laces From My Shoes.' It's not the song of the year, or even the month for that matter, but what it does succeed in is packing an optimal dose of unequivocal joy into two blissful minutes of pure guitar pop perfection. We're deep into February - by my reckoning the coldest, most miserable month of the entire year - and yet this sublime cut still managed to fill me not only with excitement ahead of the impending summer, but also the immense sense of optimism that comes with it.

Having grown up in their native Nottinghamshire, childhood friends Dan Sheen and James Hinks later relocated to Leeds, where they formed the band at the tail end of 2010. Starting out under the the name Rona Pano, the change in moniker seems to have come hand-in-hand with a greater commitment to the cause, with the pair having spent much of the past two months writing and recording. If 'You Stole...' is anything to go by, the persistence will be most worthwhile. Although not entirely dissimilar from the UK's current buzz bands such as The Vaccines, Born With Stripes seem to have their hearts set firmly in the 90s, with shades The Lemonheads and Teenage Fanclub appearing as well as hints of current grunge-pop flag bearers Yuck and Cloud Nothings (though, truth be told this trumps anything that either of them have ever come out with). It's not the most original sound, but the irresistible hooks alone prove that there's a wealth of songwriting talent at their disposal, and if there's more where that came from, a big future could perceivably lie in wait.

Listen to and download 'You Stole The Laces From My Shoes' here, and be sure to "like" their Facebook page for updates on their progress.