Signed as a teenager as Catwalk, Nic Hessler’s precocious beginning as a west coast indie guitar pop-smith was cut short when, aged 18, he was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder. That’s not why you should enjoy this debut solo album though. Hessler has no need for sympathy: he’s already walking on sunshine, tilting at jangly power pop, the Lemonheads, Love and countless knock-kneed indie bands. Originality is not his strongest suit, but songs like Hearts, Repeating and deeper album cuts such as All In the Night are so bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and well-crafted it’s not an issue.
