Comprising Jenn Wasner (guitar and vocals) and Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, more vocals), the band is named after the symbol of Maryland, USA, a tree that stood for more than 460 years before being toppled by a thunderstorm in June 2002. This juxtaposition of safety and fragility is apparent throughout their music.

The result is difficult to categorise. Taken alone, or amongst entirely similar fare, perhaps the ultra-gentle songs such as Archaic Smile and If Children Were Wishes would be too safe not to simply get lost.

Poppier tunes such as Family Glue raise the game, but are they too twee? More shoegazey numbers, such as I Don't Feel Young, are more layered, but these don't always sit comfortably alongside their simpler neighbours.

Still, it should be remembered that If Children is a debut album, and it's perfectly acceptable for bands to come along less than fully formed, learning their trade and showing us what they have to offer while still having a way to go.

Wye Oak aren't perfect, but the point of children (and oaks, of course) is that they grow. While the album does suffer from a sense that the duo are still trying to put down roots, not yet entirely sure whether they want to be folk, pop, shoegaze or 4AD-esque ethereal noodling, the result - somewhere in the middle of all of the above - is interesting even though you're left unsure of whether this is by accident or design.

The band has just finished a UK tour, and there's definitely a sense that they'd be a perfect band to play All Tomorrow's Parties - achingly indie, they take their influences from the edges and weave them together with love.

At the final reckoning, If Children is an interesting debut that warrants filing under 'wait and see'. The next time round, if they've honed up their ambitions and picked a direction, they may well have much more to offer.

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Mercury Prize 2009 nominees