There's a Club Tropicana moment on Seth Haapu's debut album. The bright and snappy pop sounds of Talk Talk Talk transport you back poolside to when tog-wearing duo Wham! cavorted their wares and, indeed, with Haapu's trademark bouncy quiff he cuts a fine Maori George Michael figure.
Of course, the 24-year-old wasn't even born back in 1983 when Wham's hit came out. But those too young to remember the 80s seem to have a far greater affection for the often-misunderstood decade.
And there's more to the sound of the Wanganui-born singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist's self-titled album than just Wham.
There's also the keyboard-tinkering pop lunacy of British singer Mika and Che Fu's strong soulfulness as well as the fidgety tenderness of Scritti Politti - he even has a 60s garage-meets-psychedelic twang to his guitar.
While it is lyrically sweet, and still a little naive - "What a bore, what a bore, what a bore, this life would be if I were like you and you like me," he ponders on Stereotype - musically Haapu has solid and, at times, eccentric chops.
