Justin and Tomek – I Need To EP
This is pretty glorious, melodic pop. A nice heavy piano and loads of vocal harmonies back up a soaring lead vocal, tickled at by cheeky little basslines that pull the songs along, just pausing every now and then for a little Stevie Wonder minor change before bounding off again to let the guitarist romp through a few flowerbeds and chase some other guitarists round the park. There are echoes of Ryan Jones (from one of RouteNote’s other bands, The Hitchcock Rules) in the front man’s voice, or Ben Folds, to make a more widely comprehensible comparison. Buy it if you like Ben Folds Five, the Beautiful South, Phoenix, or puppies. Great production for an indie band, too.