The third full-band album by former solo artist Amy O (Amy Oelsner), Shell was also recorded at Bloomington, Indiana's Russian Recording but tweaks her Midwestern backing band. Debuting Jon Meador of Ohio's Saintseneca on keys, it returns Damion Schiralli as lead guitarist, and the rhythm section comes courtesy of brothers Justin and Nathan Vollmar. As usual, though, Oelsner's good-natured, thoughtful guitar pop is the star of the show, and her melodies are more immaculate than ever before here, on a spacious set with crystal clear vocals. Bouncy riffs from grungy, '90s-inspired guitar tones are still plentiful even if the songs lean slightly away from pop-punk toward something sweeter and more reflective. Many of the album's lyrics concern looking back on her youth, including the sentimental "Crushed." Before it slips into a lite, quasi-disco-funk, the song opens with a wispy-voiced Amy O recalling sneaking out of the house for a rendezvous while "Wearing other people's clothes/Taking pictures without phones." Elsewhere, the sunny title track, with its passages of unison fuzz and quirky organ timbres, remembers "Hair slicked back like Ringo in the '80s/A sun-kissed, younger version of me." An almost uniformly upbeat album, even entries like the grieving "Planet Blue" are jaunty and tuneful; it only slows down once, for the dreamy, drums-free "Rest Stop" midway through. Again mixing playful keyboard lines and guitar distortion, Shell takes a decidedly domestic turn on closer "Later On," which considers painting the kitchen or weeding, this time while playing hooky from work. Like its predecessor, Elastic, Shell is notably consistent in its catchiness, delivering a set of short, sweet pick-me-ups shaded with subtle doses of poignancy.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo