[05.03] Nik Freitas could be the musical equivalent of Cindy Sherman. Sherman is the New York photographer who gained prominence in the '70s by posing as celebrity icons—Sherman as Marilyn, Sherman as Jackie O., etc. Freitas, whose day job also happens to be as a photographer, tries on different skins from song to song. One moment may feature him and his Fender Rhodes in a smiling soul march, and he's Billy Preston ("Check the Weather"). On the very next, he's become Doug Martsch, with overlapping guitar and synth parts that would be at home on Keep it Like a Secret ("Normal").

In lesser hands, this would be merely derivative. But Freitas isn't trying to fool anyone with his appropriations, and he pulls it off beautifully. His voice has a kid-brother quality that endears him as an underdog narrator, and his strong melodic sense never falters. Other precocious hook-masters try too hard to impress, by squeezing every ounce of catchiness into the first few lines of the verse. Freitas shows a patience with melodies that belies his youth. His phrases leave room to breathe, and he develops them over the course of the full song.

Freitas and his buddy Aaron Estes play most of the instruments on Heres Laughing At You. The two of them sound great together. The playing is assured and restrained, letting the songs carry themselves freely and lightly.

The album has its weaker moments—the repetitive and monochromatic twang of "Universal Buyout" loses its flavor by the second verse, and the lo-fi production backfires with the grating vocal effect employed on "Pull My Leg." As a whole, though, Heres Laughing At You is this year's most promising debut. —Kevin Seal