Georgie James: Places

Post-punk trio Q And Not U fizzled out in 2005, with its final album Power leaving behind an aftertaste of everything from XTC to Prince. Drummer-vocalist John Davis has picked up the pop baton with Places, the debut by his new group Georgie James. Paired with singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn, Davis stuffs Places with inventive hooks and fresh, rich, heart-bursting elation. At first, his fetchingly froggy vibrato might not seem to fit with Burhenn's almost Christine McVie-ish voice, but the duo's amalgam of '70s balladry and power-pop helps them to mesh. And even when straying from formula—as on "Need Your Needs, " a disco-pop gem straight out of Saint Etienne's catalogue or Orange Juice's final, funky days—Georgie James keeps Places raw, human, and contagious.