5. Camera Obscura "French Navy"

I wanted to control it / But love, I couldn't hold it

When Camera Obscura first emerged, Tracyanne Campbell was a bit of a wallflower, even taking a backseat in a few tracks to John Henderson. But something really lovely happened with Henderson's departure - Camera Obscura's songs got bolder, Campbell's writing became more secure and confident and the music became more than bookish romances, but beautifully crafted pop songs. On 2006's Let's Get Out of This Country, their first album without Henderson, the songs had a lovely Motown swing that was far and away more assured than 2003's Underachievers Please Try Harder.

Yet still with two drum beats, "French Navy" is a showstopper that bests them all. Yes, it's still bookish - it does take place in a library after all - but here, Campbell indulges in fantasy, a daydream about the titular military man. Complete with string flourishes and stomps that are reminiscent of The Ronettes, "French Navy" is urgent and giddy, full of the rush one feels in the wake of a romance. Yet ever the sensible student, there is a tinge of pessimism - I wanted to control it / but love, I couldn't hold it - as Campbell lets this fleeting love get the better of her. Even so, Campbell gives in and her sweet and confident performance makes the song - a wallflower no more.