The Lucksmiths are a three-piece from Australia that bear a certain resemblance to the early days of Belle and Sebastian. Where the latter have struck out towards a different aesthetic, however, the Lucksmiths continue to produce some very pretty, jangly folk-pop. 

I used to listen to an internet radio station called indiepopradio. A great station, it was—until it essentially ceased updating in 2002, you could count on it to provide the best and brightest of the Pacific Northwest scene, with bits and pieces of other indie genres thrown in. When I first started listening to it, I found all these great bands like Go Sailor, Sarge, Saint Etienne, Mirah and a host of others, but the one band I absolutely could not stand was the Lucksmiths. To this day, I don’t really remember why—maybe it seemed too twee at a time when I was still occasionally listening to the alternative rock station in town. 

No matter, though; all you need to know is I was wrong, and the Lucksmiths are great. This was the song that turned me around; there’s something wonderfully romantic and nostalgic about the title and the opening of the song, which really does evoke a gentler time of propeller planes the likes of which you only see of postage stamps these days.