Barcelona-based indie-folk act Manel make idiosyncratic, kitchen-sink pop songs that seem to arrive as if on a cloud, floating above the ground. The band set themselves apart by singing in Catalan, but beyond that their sound—a mix of muted horns, back porch acoustic guitars, twinkling ukelele and click-clacking percussion—is quietly mesmerising, creating miniature anthems without any pomp or grandeur. Manel's 2008 debut, Els Millors Professors Europeus, was a loose, communal classic and topped many year-end lists. Thankfully, later releases didn't tighten things up.