Much as i like The Pipettes, their jolly-hockey-sticks version of the Sixties girl-group sound can't really compare to the dark teenage melodrama of the almighty Shangri-Las. In truth, little can. I find much more in common between the latter and the likes of Tatu than any number of groups borrowing more heavily from their signature style. There are rare occassions when it all comes together and Bat For Lashes' What's A Girl To Do is one of them. No relation to the Cristina song of the same name, it's a wonderfully atmospheric pop song full of melancholy and tambourines. Fur & Gold is one of the best British albums of 2006 so far - combining English folk traditions and Natasha Khan's cut-glass accent with American influences (Laura Veirs / Cat Power / Mary Timony) and a vaguely Eastern sense of mysticism apparently developed in her youth in Pakistan. The fact that she was born into the country's legendary squash-playing family makes me love her even more. She's picking up critical acclaim from sources as unlikely as notoriously wretched British tabloid The Sun.

Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do

And, if you're feeling nostalgic:

The Shangri-Las - Out In The Streets