by Stewart MasonAt a time when the Spanish indie pop scene tends to favor either retro power pop or Belle & Sebastian-style tweeness, Barcelona-based duo the Pinker Tones pursue their own uniquely rewarding path. Their largely electronic sound blends straightforward bubblegum hooks, dance rhythms, and a magpie-like attitude to all styles and eras of pop music past. Salvador Rey (vocals, guitar, keyboards, flute) and Alex Llovet (keyboards, samples, drums) met at university in the late '90s and formed the Pinker Tones in 2001 when Rey was offered a commission to compose a soundtrack for a television documentary and he approached his neighbor Llovet about using the latter's home studio for the project. Enjoying the collaboration, the pair continued under the name the Pinker Tones, adopting the stage names Mister Furia (Rey) and Professor Manso (Llovet) as part of an overarching concept of incorporating humor and multilingual positivity into ...