Chris Mansfield is a boy from Boston with a Pacific Northwest heart. Recording under the name Fences, named for a play by August Wilson, Mansfield certainly has a package he wants you to buy. The self-titled album is at times catchy, always moody, and yet surprisingly genuine.

Fences was produced by Sara Quin of indie-darling-duo Tegan and Sara, and it shows. This is an album that at first listen is cold; the production quality is crisp, but not stale, and the lyrics are narrative, but not sappy.

The conversational lyrics of “The Same Tattoos” (Listen Here) are relatable, “My mother hates it when I smile/and she sees you coming through me/like the sun shines through thin glass.”  And the rhythmic and emotional qualities of Quin are also found on “Girls with Accents” where Mansfield wisely muses over a floaty synth beat.

The strong yet delicate “Boys Around Here”, with a warm guitar and a sparingly used piano invite comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel and Onelinedrawing.

The one thing the singer hasn’t really mastered yet is how he wants to tell his story. Is he down-on-his-luck or is he moving on? Mansfield is talented, that’s pretty evident, and can present a song in a sincere way with great melodies already. If Fences could explore something bigger than lost love and fucking up, we could have something really special on our hands next time.

All in all, Chris Mansfield and Sara Quin make a skillful team. Where he is laidback and folksy, she is clean, and the songs’ arrangement and shape of the album are effective. The affection in the instrumentals the singer sculpts here are raw without being sloppy, and that’s why Fences will get into your head.

Conclusion? Polished yet honest and heartfelt, and that’s how it should be.