With his sixth release Jeff Shelton has fallen into a great groove that makes him so prolific, I would call him the power pop version of Robert Pollard (GBV). Driven by tight, punchy rhythms from drummer Nick Laquintano (Spinning Jennies) the Well Wishers hit the ground running on “Escape The Light” with its mix of REM jangle and Posies styled vocal phrasing. “Allison” has a great fuzzy riff similar to Bob Mould’s Sugar and the piano led “Nothing Ever Changes” is another standout with a great hooks.
The impressive thing here is that Shelton’s sound has more variety than any previous release, and as always no filler to be found. He gets positively inspirational on “Free? No,” the heavy reverb on “Have Some More Tea” keeps things moving, and he gets downright punk on “All I Got.” A great start to the new year and our first nominee for the Top Ten of 2012!
