Blue Popis a perfect description of Adam Daniel's songwriting. On the surface, his music is sweet and cooing, built on savvy melodies (it's easy to hum along with his lilting phrases and tangled harmonies) that flourish in meticulous, silky-smooth self-production. A scan of the record's lyrics, though, tells a darker, somewhat more complicated story. Daniel writes exclusively about romance, but he fixates on moments of disillusion and fleeting bouts with the claustrophobia of relationships. (In "Cured," he sings, "And what are you gonna do when she's not right/And she needs you and you're not right either.") Daniel's strongest trait is his ability to display the subtle contrasts between his emotional and musical sides. He's also pulled off the very difficult feat of wrapping cynicism in gleaming musicality.

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