Birds of Wales frontman Morgan Cameron Ross has decided to fly solo for a while. On his self-titled solo debut, Ross has laid down ten solo tracks, though admittedly with a little help from some friends. Canadian songstress Holly McNarland pays a visit on ballad “I’ll Hold On to Your Heart,” while Daniel Wesley has Ross’ back on the gently-rocking pop single “Let It Go,” as well as “A Few More Days.” Ross even managed to enlist the songwriting experience of Ron Sexmith on “We’ve All Had Broken Hearts,” and sat down with Josh Schroeder to write “Storybook Romance.”

The result are ten squeaky clean songs stamped with Ross’ distinct voice and varying musical style. The first three tracks are riddled with melodic hooks that are sure to catch some ears. It’s when Ross slows it down, throws in some pedal steel and digs deep on rootsy track “I’ll Hold On To Your Heart,” though, that the album really gets going. Songs like “My Brother Went to Prison” and “A Few More Days” continue down this path, and both seem genuine and natural. The pace and style of these tracks are better fit for Ross’ unique voice and show his true ability as a songwriter. On a whole, the roots tracks are the heart of the album, far and away outshining the pop rock hits.