Contemplative music goes well with the mysterious nature of West Coast highways. The trees, the roaming bends in the road, and the obnoxious drivers who fly past in intense bursts of horsepower, leave a quiet bubble of room for deliberation. It was on one of these highways that I first found Jake Bellows.

The word that best describes Bellow’s latest album New Ocean is “patient.” Known as the lead singer of the defunct band Neva Dinova, Bellows had some reorganizing to do when he hesitantly launched a solo career. On his website, Bellows describes his creative process as artistically impulsive, an operation driven by inspiration.

Given the time to sink in, New Ocean is easy to like. Bellows has a soft-spoken style that unhurriedly captivates my attention. In many respects, Bellow’s creative spontaneity has left a lot of room for monotony, but this repetition is calming. The gouging effects of formulaic songs from artists like Mumford And Sons seem distant and irrelevant where Bellows is concerned. New Ocean offers a respite from pushy pop and frantic folk, giving listeners a quiet span of listening that is restful and soulful at the same time.

If you miss Neva Dinova, give New Ocean a chance. While Jake Bellows has been known to tout about the unrealistic optimism his album offers, I disagree. New Ocean is refreshing because Bellow’s lyrics examine life from a new, entirely probable perspective, one that works with wilderness driving, and a million other conceivable quests.

(Saddle Creek Records, PO Box 8554 Omaha, NE 68108-0554)