Understated but assured pop abounds on this singer-songwriter?s first solo album (he also fronts The Fear of Heights and the Sort-Of?s). Robley displays a facility with transitions ? from minor- to major-key melodies, or from somber atmospherics to percussive shoves ? that recalls prime Tall Dwarfs, or, OK, the Tall Dwarfs recalling the Beatles. High praise in my book but fully warranted. Robley is a confident musician, handling all but a couple of drum tracks here, employing urgently picked guitar (?Swimming Lessons?) and gracious piano (?All Roads?) to equally expressive and impressive effect. He shows no lack of ambition in his arrangements, with midtempo lilters like ?Wondrous Withering of Days? and ?Stalin Looks Back? reaching a radio-readiness that I?m not at all used to hearing on a CD that came in a folded sheet of photocopied paper. He even knows when and for how long to process his vocals (cf. ?Isabelle?) to cut the slight, overtly Lennonesque glibness that sometimes creeps in, while simultaneously beating, say, the last several Matthew Sweet albums on their home court. Full but never fussy, tasty but biting, familiar but fresh. Ace all around. 8/10 -- Sal Addays (8 June, 2005)