There are people; the Karen O’s, Julian Casablancas’ and Jack White’s of this world, who can brandish more allure and cool in a little finger than most indie types  can muster in their whole career. The prerequisite being of course that they don’t have to try. They. Just. Do.

And then there are those on the other side of the spectrum. Last year you couldn’t open a magazine without reading about Florence (of the Machine) Welch’s art-schooled fake bohemia schtick and idiosyncratic penchant for climbing trees - all engineered, if you think as sceptically as I do, to make her sound as kooky as possible.

Now here at the AU Review we happen to think that New Yorker Darwin Deez’s razor thin moustache is one of the coolest things we’ve seen in a while. But my God does the guy smack of Florence-esque agenda. Another review speaks of him playing in his own specially tuned guitar while his press release bleats that his eponymous release is a mixture of Thriller meets Dismemberment Plan  and that he spontaneously breaks into Beyonce inspired choreography onstage. It’s all achingly eccentric and like... totally out there. But we think that Deez needs to sack the stylist because a). he doesn’t need that shit, and b). we’re not interested. Tellingly, his debut is in contrast to that hipster persona; free of gimmick, honest, open hearted and really rather good.

‘Constellations’ with its airy chords and infectious chirp could have been a late contender for 2009’s indie diamond of the year and sets out Deez’s statement of intent – all breezy, surfy guitars, hand claps and warm charm. Plus anyone who can use the lyrics “Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are” without sounding cringeworthy deserves a certain amount of credit. Deez has garnered a lot of Strokes comparisons and while these are not unfounded, his sounds more like a Julian Casablancas record than anything else.

‘Deep Sea Divers’ continues in much the same vein as ‘Constellations’ with the same DIY drum machine and cheerful chimes, as does ‘The City’. The real surprise though comes with ‘Radar Detector’ and ‘Bad Day’ which hidden at the back of the album are like unearthing rare gems. Uplifting and playful with hooks big enough to catch fish on, it’s clear that this is the whimsical oddity that Deez wanted the whole album to be.

Sadly though, the majority of it misses the mark. With pretty much each song following the lo-fi, drum machine, simple melody routine it’s becomes obvious early on that Deez hasn’t got any more tricks up his sleeve. And while ‘Bomb Song’, ‘Suicide Song’ and ‘Up In The Clouds’, sweet and winning as they are, may be nothing close to filler, they ain't exactly what we can killer either.

But we know he can do it. There’s enough here to suggest Deez could make something truly brilliant if he took a few more risks and that he can be much more than  just a passing hipster fad.

Review Score: 6/10