Expected Outcomes

Jeff Shelton has an impeccable pedigree in power pop, having served a ten-year term as founding member of the Bay Area band Spinning Jennies and released his own solo work under the name The Well Wishers for over 20 years since. 30 years of writing will hone anyone’s craft, and Expected Outcomes shows Shelton to be at the top of his game: the album features heavy but tight guitars, multilayered harmonies, and hooks hooks hooks. Sometimes the hooks are big and anthemic (“Second Hand Emotion,” “Pox on Everything”) and sometimes they’re more subtle and crafty (“In the Afterglow”), but there’s not a single track on this album that you won’t want to sing along to in the shower or in the car. And the thing is, all of his albums are like this.