Tom Vek cheerfully admits that he's a bit of a geek. As his intriguing debut album shows, however, the 23-year-old Londoner is also a very talented geek. Recorded single-handedly in his dad's garage, We Have Sound is a sublime concoction of musical ingredients that manages to recycle some of the best art-rock bands of the last two decades: Talking Heads, the Fall and even Pavement. Vek himself seems to have more voices than Rory Bremner, supplying uncanny impersonations of David Byrne, Mark E Smith and Stephen Malkmus in turn. Built around scratchy guitars and shimmering synths, there's a lo-fi ambience to his songs that could have been irritating, but instead ends up being quite charming. Is he really the new Beck, as the music press claims? The raw talent is certainly there - where he goes from here will be fascinating to watch.
