Strapping on a pair of expensive headphones and queuing up the latest in challenging, avant-garde art noise for some gratuitous chin stroking is all well and good but, just sometimes, there's nothing wrong with succumbing to the merits of a little status quo (note the lack of capitals and pony tails). What's wrong with a good old-fashioned, guitar-based, honest as the day is long, melody-laden record these days eh? Back in the day ("the day" being one of history's most referenced eras) the music industry used to thrive on hits. The Hit Factory, the Hit Parade, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick; when 45s, cassettes and CD singles were still big business the Pop Song was king. Enter: Yeti Lane.Before Yeti Lane there was Cyann & Ben. The Parisian, Gooom Disques-signed four-piece released three albums of folk-inflected space-rock between 2004 and '06, and then, while album four was under way, Cyann quit forcing Ben, LoAc and Charlie to make a fresh start with Yeti Lane. And not only a fresh start: a fresh sound. While elements of that "folk-infected space-rock" are still present, Yeti Lane's self-titled debut is a hot slice of melody-laden, in your face, guitar pop.Lead single 'Lonesome George' (an allegorical tale based upon the plight the last surviving Pinta Island tortoise ”“ obviously) is a twee pop adrenaline shot to the face. Spastic synths and frenetic drums serve as the back-bone to a track which is so perennially chipper Stuart Murdoch would be proud. The rest of the album plays out at a much more measured, charming pace. Up-front, laid back rhythms and scratchy, often dissonant, guitars give Yeti Lane a slacker-pop edge which will no doubt bring a lot of Pavement comparisons to mind. However, don't put all your pigeons in one hole.Not forgetting that in a past life the members assembled were responsible for eight-minute psychedelic symphonies, you'll often find yourself drenched in lush; more often than not we turn the corner into shoegaze-meets-The Velvet Underground. 'Black Soul' wouldn't sound out of place on Spirit Of Eden, 'Think It's Done' manages to come off like (painful comparative reference coming up) The Whitest Boy Alive covering Radiohead's 'House Of Cards', and Only One Look is dark, tribal and brooding.While the majority of tracks here are temperate, even nonchalant in their delivery, Yeti Lane’s debut manages to feel unashamedly buoyant and exciting. With so many hooks and melodies, riffs and themes running through ten tracks Yeti Lane have produced the first great indie-pop record of 2010.