With his checked shirt and curly mop, Tobias Jesso Jr looked like an extra from The Wonder Years.

And his heartbreak ballads, filled with the transient turmoil teenagers seem to spend their young lives wishing away, could have been lifted straight from the show.

He penned simple, concise, piano-led pop songs. Over the keys he laid clever, McCartney-esque melodies. His voice was warm and intimate and could melt stone. No wonder he made it as a guest on major American chat show The Tonight Show before he’d even released an album.

Here, the Canadian raced through the best of his debut LP, Goon, a record penned in the aftermath of a failed career as bassist for LA rockers The Sessions, a stint as writer for pop nobody Melissa Cavatti and after being hit with the news his mother had developed cancer.

The tender, wistful lines of Without You sounded ready to soundtrack a thousand tales of lost love but Jesso, came across as a sparky, upbeat fellow. He battled away on an out-of-tune guitar for one song and still managed to hold a smile as well as the crowd.

On How Could You Babe, with its soaring choruses and epic final refrain, the 29-year-old pushed his voice to the limit and challenged the crowd to do the same. "This is the bit where you find out how drunk you are," he joked, inspiring a mass singalong.

Four stars