Now, on to an Spanish indie duo that’s been around for about 10 years. Pauline en la Playa, or Pauline at the Beach (yeah, I took Spanish 1 in high school!), emerged from the 90’s all-female pop group the Undershakers. According to their website, sisters Mar and Alicia Alvarez decided to begin their new project, Pauline en la Playa, to bring other musical styles into the pop genre and to incorporate what they were learning at the School of Creative Music in Madrid, especially jazz styles, into the creative process. I think you’ll find that throughout the 10 years of their existence, they have certainly succeeded.
If I had to stuff Pauline en la Playa into a genre, it would probably be more along the lines of indie folk than indie pop, with hints of jazz/blues. The creativity is quite reminiscent of Regina Spektor, but with a wider range of instrumentation; for instance, in several of their songs, you’ll hear accordion, recorder, various string instruments, and saxophone. The end of “Esos Besos” actually sound Celtic, to my ears and occasionally I get hints of the Amelie soundtrack. In any case, I think you’ll enjoy the lovely sound of Pauline en la Playa, which has achieved mellow without losing the fun. And, if you can understand the lyrics, I have a feeling you’ll enjoy them even more. They have lots of albums out to choose from–Nothing Like Home, Termites and Other Things, Frogs Storm, Syllabary, and Baggage Physics, which came out this year. (Excuse the English. Google Translate became my friend this week.) You can also start with their myspace page, which in my opinion is a very good place to start.
The Indie Handbook 
Good stuff, as always!