Deadlights is the brainchild of Jeff Shelton, whose more prolific outfit The Well Wishers was/is responsible for a steady volley of crunch-laden power pop albums with nary a bum tune in earshot. Deadlights, on the other hand, occupy a more insular space wherein Shelton indulges his jones for more austere Anglophile-informed rock, loosely resembling the likes of Catherine Wheel and the Chameleons; just don't expect anything derivative. The second full-length release mines deeper into the depths of dreampop, shoegaze and melodically-driven post punk. Catchy pop song structures remain at the forefront of the album's 10 original tracks, with a layered, swirling backdrop of echoing guitars, and lush vocal harmonies that conjure a balanced mix of bands like Ride, Swervedriver, The Church, with a Stone Roses guitar roar. Right from the get go Shelton doesn’t mess around, opening cut “Because” is a nice opener but it leads to the flat out terrific “Paralyzed” and then the interestingly titled “Out of Step With the Modern World” kicks it home. Elsewhere “Just Let It Go” has a driving beat and a killer hook while having Gretchen’s Wheel vocalist Lindsey Murray adds harmony vocals to the dreamy “Blankets” was a righteous choice while Bay Area musician Bill Taylor added some guitar on a few tracks as well, otherwise it’s all Shelton. For the album’s sole cover, Shelton digs deep into the Pink Floyd catalogue for a surprise rendition of Pink Floyd's Meddle-era deep cut, "Fearless." In his hands the song fits into the shoegaze aesthetic in a way one might not have anticipated. The overarching construct of the song is left intact, but is gracefully filtered through Deadlights modus operandi, blending in seamlessly with this record's ten originals and then kicks us all out into the cool, crisp night.