Band of the Week: The Candle Thieves

The Candle Thieves are a collaboration of sorts between one Scott McEwan and another mysteriously titled Glockenshields. They make a sickly sweet brand of indie pop that would could induce a diabetic coma. I've seen them described in some quarters as 'writing nursery rhymes for adults', although I think to make such a claim is a little bit dismissive of their efforts.

If you pay a little visit to their MySpace, it's like journeying into a magical world of cartoon rainbows and sharks and bears, to borrow from one of their song titles. While people may dismiss The Candle Thieves as childlike and a bit saccharine, I see it more as escapism. Andy Kaufmann, that late, great American comedian late of the 1970s and 80s, was similarly decried; while people loved the Elvis impressions, when he invited people out for milk and cookies he was branded a simple fool who had lost his edge. This music has a similar endearing simplicity.

While some entertainment is designed to inspire and some to provoke thought, on many occasions it's designed simply to put into words a feeling, and in the case of The Candle Thieves their particular brand of entertainment is intended to make you smile, to make you feel good, to brighten your day. And fortunately for them, they go about this task in an exceptional manner. Listen to The Sunshine Song, the lead track from their forthcoming EP - it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. And in these times of economic struggle and toil, can that really be such a bad thing?

Check out The Candle Thieves at www.myspace.com/thecandlethieves