Christmas and New Years – the season of sentiment and nostalgia – too bad Chris Garneau just missed it. The young New Yorker’s delicate chamber pop music would have been perfect for that cosy time of year. Instead, Garneau glides into town on Monday 11, midway through a pan-Asia tour in support of El Radio, his latest album of fey piano pop whimsy.

A lifelong pianist and a dropout from the esteemed Berkeley School of Music, Garneau was introduced to indie label Absolutely Kosher in 2006 by Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, who had been impressed by one of the singer-songwriter’s tender performances in Brooklyn. His first album, Music For Tourists, soon followed. A collection of sensitive, minor key ballads featuring Garneau’s feathery voice over piano and strings, the album garnered mostly negative reviews. Nonetheless, while many a critic was put off by his heart-on-sleeve approach, Garneau’s sound resonated with a fair share of fellow feelers in the indie crowd, winning him a small but devoted following.

On El Radio Garneau has branched out, experimenting with poppier arrangements and less introspective lyrical content. The album’s standouts include the infectious carnivalesque ditty Fireflies and the playful sing-along No More Pirates. Whether you’ll find this show cloying or heart-rending is more a question of personal constitution than Garneau’s particular talent. Steve Cheng

Chris Garneau plays Hidden Agenda on Monday 11. Tickets: White Noise (2591 0499).