Heavy Jones Trio: Nobody Town

(Herald rating: * * * *)

The name might suggest a Chet Baker tribute band but the Heavy Jones Trio are a pop-rock quartet you suspect have no bad habits. But they do have many pleasant tendencies - lilting tunes, many finger-in-the-ear harmonies and melancholy songs built of sturdy and elegant timbers.

Before HJT, frontman Kelly Horgan was half of Christchurch acoustic duo Love Soup with a pre-fame Bic Runga. But it sounds from this that he has no problems reaching the high notes all by himself.

His songs swing gently from acoustic-framed alt-country lopes (like the title track, and Holding Out for Something) through to janglers of the Coldplay and Travis ilk (Best Laid Plans, Staring at the Ocean), along with echoes of the Finns on the likes of the swooning pop of Money When You're Gone and the relatively rocky Free.

The lyrics on some tracks - such as Saturday Night - can let the side down on an album that also suffers from its consistently earnest mood.

But it's hard not to be impressed by the graceful melodies and the band's restrained delivery.

Label: Global Routes