Michael Shelley: Too Many Movies

Part sweet pop musician, part observational folk singer, Michael Shelley proves on his second solo album that he has a command of both styles without ever fully committing to either. The results are frequently lovely. Recorded partially in Shelley's native New York and partially in Scotland (with assistance from two members of Belle & Sebastian and BMX Bandits' Francis Macdonald, Shelley's partner in the fun side project Cheeky Monkey), Too Many Movies is as charming and unabashedly catchy as any album released this year. Shelley is the sort of musician who uses handclaps to great effect—as on the upbeat birth-control anthem "The Pill"—a fact that says quite a bit about where he's coming from. Too Many Movies is filled with brief, memorable melodies. Some, like the violin- and pedal-steel-driven "Lisa Marie" and "She's Not You," incorporate country elements, while others, such as "Sweet Little One," bring to mind the best elements of power-pop past and present. Lyrically, Shelley doesn't always know where to draw the line between whimsical ("She's got a figure like Marilyn Monroe / and she can cook just like Julia Child") and overly cute. "That's Where The Plaque Is," for example, is a song about dental hygiene that seems devoid of metaphor; it's simply about the importance of keeping teeth clean. Fortunately, this doesn't usually interfere with a winning album, a collection of minor pleasures that ultimately adds up to something more.