I just downloaded Philip Selway’s Familial from AmazonMP3 for $7.99 and I’m really pleased with it thus far. It’s an exceedingly pleasant album. If you like quiet contemplative songs then you may dig this album quite a bit.

What does it sound like? Think Nick Drake with some subtle Radiohead-esque sonic experimentation. The songs are mostly driven by acoustic guitar and Selway’s much better than I thought it would be voice but there are also some nice little touches (such as strings in “Falling,” a percussive loop in “Beyond Reason,” and a spooky vocal loop in “All Eyes On You”) that make songs more interesting than if they were entirely “unplugged.”

On my first couple of listens the songs that really jump out at me are “By Some Miracle” and “The Ties That Bind Us.” Both of these songs have me singing along with them already. Lovely melodies.