Every once and a while, the BackstageRider likes to crawl out from under the piles of  twitchy and dirty alt-somethin’-somethin’ music and swat at the light.

And while the interior of the Snow Patrol-early U2-Editors triangularium isn’t a place in which we typically dwell for too long, sometimes it’s good to get clean. Factor in swoony vocals, earnest love songs and anthemy choruses rooted somewhere near the good parts of the late 1980s, and you’ve got July’s Rockands heroes: introducing The Republic of Letters.

Made out of bits of Chris Venti (lovely vocals),  brother Nick Venti (drummer and chap with excellent chain below), Martin Niwinski (bass guitar) and Adrian Thorstensen (guitar), Republic of Letters are derived from San Diego, CA. Their first full-lengther is due out this autumn, produced by good friend to BSR, Louis XIV/Nervous Wreckords’ Brian Karscig. For a taster now, however, they’ve got an EP called Painted Hour (also the name of the best song on there). Have a listen to them on MySpace. They might be pretty, but they’re also cheeky devils’ (horns). \m/