Aqueduct

David Terry has arrived to showcase when cheap is not, in fact, cheap. The one-man-band from Tulsa, OK recorded his album entirely on his own, utilising the very latest in cheap-ass drum machines and old Casio keyboards. His touchstones include (gasp!) the 1980s. But unlike every other loser these days who wants to reassess the influence of the Human League on their early teenagehood, Terry is a talented songwriter and arranger who's just using what's available. The result is a quite brilliant collection of quirky pop that channels the Flaming Lips, XTC and Built to Spill on different channels. Satirical without being too clever for its own good, catchy without layering on extra cheese, smart-alecky without a sense of arrogance, Aqueduct is a treasure, one of those albums that will find its audience one open-minded music fan at a time.