Shaw is a singer-songwriter based in Seattle, and if you could earnestly strum a laptop that?s what he?d be doing. It?s not that there are no guitars at all; they?re burbling through opening track ?The Drunk,? but they?re processed and submerged under beeps of varied nature. Shaw describes himself as ?raised on pop-punk,? and it shows, with the melodies here rarely straying from the now-familiar post-Mould/Malkmus turf and the lyrics being typically wistful. ?Quicksand? is a nice, Notwisty blend of guitar and glitch, with a light, clean touch that prevents either element from being overwhelmed by the other. Best moments may be in the opening to ?Late Nights,? a brief instrumental passage that, if expanded, could be the blueprint for a sort of Jawbreaker/Autechre fusion (Jawtechre!). Shaw takes the song into broken-voice-crashing-guitar territory instead, which is okay but overdone, and the more compelling idea lies waiting. 5/10 -- Sal Addays (28 June, 2006)