To borrow a phrase from Taylor Swift, I declare French Cassettes "should be a bigger artist." Their hook-laden guitar-driven pop will delight fans of The Strokes, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend even – and yes, maybe our references are dating us, but do we even care when the music's this good?

I have their 2020 album Rolodex on my in-store playlist and therefore have heard it at least 100 times and am still not sick of it. There are always new little secrets to find - a delightful guitar lick here, a sweet vocal harmony there, a sneaky half-bar dropped here, a clever rhyme there. And 2024's follow-up Benzene doesn't disappoint.

Upbeat tracks like "Medium Horny" and "Baseball Bat" will embed themselves in your brain, with slower tempo tracks like "When You Know You Know" and "Megabus" taking you more into Shins or Wilco territory, which is a lovely place to find yourself. Lorenzo Scott Huerta's clever observational lyrics – incredibly specific and personal, yet wildly universal and relatable – are perfectly cocooned in his smooth, earwormy melodies, resting beautifully on the sometimes-plush, sometimes-angular mattress supplied by guitarist Mackenzie Bunch.

The second verse from "White Noise" gets me every time:

"Even if I was only being clever by saying leave me nothing at the tone

I can't remember a better laugh / Than when I played it back when I got home

And between the white noise and a light cough / The familiar scrape of a cap being twisted off

Not only did I know that it was you / But I could tell which room

It's sad but true"

I'm instantly transported to an empty house, listening to a cheeky voicemail of nothing, cackling to myself. And it's joyful and poignant all at once, which pretty much sums up French Cassettes.

– Cara Lanyon