Landon Pigg’s debut album is not at all what I expected from this former kiddie-music singer (his credits include a pair of Ronald McDonald albums). While I’d imagined Pigg’s music would be lightweight and shamelessly hooky, I couldn’t have been more wrong. True, most of the tunes are mighty catchy, but not predictably so. It’s interesting to contrast Pigg with someone like Jeff Buckley, of whose music Pigg’s own seems a more populist version. Singing along with Buckley is a chore, always serving to highlight the singer’s prowess, whereas singing along with Pigg seems not only possible, but encouraged. This is not to say that Pigg’s voice is of the everyman variety, just that there’s nothing terribly showy about it. Musically, Pigg retains some of Buckley’s epic feel, but sticks a pin in its bloated belly and collapses it down to three-minute songs (“Can’t Let Go”, “Last Stop”, “Just Like I Am”). It’s not totally perfect. The first half of LP is stronger than the second, to the point that the last few songs are something of a letdown. And yes, diversity might not be his strong suit, at least not yet. But Landon Pigg has enough potential that his occasional missteps can be eagerly forgiven. LP is a charming record, and reason enough to be optimistic about Pigg’s future.

• "Can't Let Go" QuickTime
• "Keep Looking Up" QuickTime