Paula i Karol (PL)

Him and her. A Pole from Canada and a sensitive guy from Warsaw. Paula Bialski and Karol Strzemieczny: one of the most interesting debuts in recent years and the driving force behind a great storm on the country’s independent music scene. They’ve just resurfaced with their second release, the excellent and unpretentious Whole Again, featuring guest appearances by Radek Łukasiewicz (Pustki) and Piotr Zabrocki. The band has enjoyed universal acclaim, and not just in Poland. The Guardian placed them on their list of artists to look out for in 2011, describing them as the kind of band that says, “come to our concert – we’ll break your heart, and then we’ll fix it up kind.” Incidentally, English audiences have gotten their own taste of Paula i Karol’s charm: as you read this, the band is wrapping up their British tour with a performance at the Liverpool Sound City festival.