Bear - Garden

There can occasionally be a taint of condescension in Western appreciation of Asian pop artists, especially when the artists in question are female. (Not all supposed fans of Shonen Knife were sincere in their appreciation, and a surprising number seemed unaware of how much of the band's songwriting and image was a deliberate stylistic choice.) However, for all of the unapologetic cuteness in Bear-Garden's music, this twee pop act from Bangkok, Thailand, led by singer/songwriter Somsiri Sangkaew, has no sense of amateurishness or "so wrong it's right" strangeness in its expert...