It is surprisingly fitting that the first album Jason Robert Quever recorded for Sub Pop has been described as “meticulously designed pop music.” Usually press release labels are alarmingly lame and inappropriate; this is dead on.

Though every one of the 10 songs on the album is solid, there are definite highlights. The haunting style of “I’ll See You Later I Guess” contrasts surprisingly well with the alt-country pleasantry of “Winter Daze.” It isn’t that Quever has a wonderful voice — it is how he uses the voice he was given. Instead of overdoing the emotion, or trying too hard to be something he isn’t, Quever manages to evoke some real feeling with his singing while not sounding contrived or, worse yet, over-emotional when it would be inappropriate.

(Sub Pop Records, 2013 Fourth Avenue, Third Floor, Seattle, WA, 98121)