East-London outfit Hefner hit Ottawa with much anticipation from British pop aficionados and left smiles on the faces of even those akin to having as much chance of smiling as the Palace Guards.

Sure, their lite sounds are concerned with the traditional British fare: girls, cigarettes and alcohol and lad life, but their movement away from the bass, guitar/vocalist, drummer ensemble is refreshing.

Adding a dash or harmonica, some brass and a whirl on the Wurlitzer to the mix gave an upbeat feel to typical shoe-gazing sounds. Call it Brit-Pop Nouveau. Their heartfelt tune "Don’t Flake Out On Me" gave a unifying, gather-’round-the-bar-and-hoist-a-pint-to-your-mates love-in vibe to the almost-capacity crowd.

Their new take on the old hat of British pop will be well-received and the catchy, hummable tunes are bound to find a place high in the charts in the upcoming months, stay tuned.