After spending 2007 to 2013 as the frontman of The Devil and a Penny, John Lutkevich went the solo route the following year and released the EP that would become the name of his future projects, Soft Fangs. The five-song cassette became a bit of an underground hit, with the initial pressing selling out before he signed to a label for the re-release. But instead of rushing out another record to capitalize on the momentum, Lutkevich played it cool, woodshedding in the attic of his childhood home. He has emerged with Soft Fangs’ debut album, The Light (Disposable America/Exploding In Sound Records).

Soft Fangs is a strictly DIY affair with Lutkevich pulling a Prince and writing, recording, and producing everything on the record. It’s to his credit—and perhaps Bradford Krieger, who helped mix and master the album—that the record sounds larger than the one-man approach while retaining a certain intimacy. You get the squeak of fingers on guitar strings, and the vocals and drums have a hushed quality to them, as if Lutkevich was afraid of disturbing someone. But there are also big, lush sounds. Varying from huge washes of guitar to well-placed keyboards and cheap drum machine beats, The Light plays it both ways by being a headphone record and a rocker, sometimes within the same song. Lutkevich could have gone the lo-fi route, but instead the album is polished without being slick.

In the musician’s own words, The Light is “about death, life, nature, and all the little things people forget.” But it’s focused on the micro rather than attempting to answer the grand questions. Lutkevich takes an abstract approach to his lyrics, which seem to float in and out of focus, sometimes nearly obscured by the music. It’s like he wants you close by, but not too close. What holds the whole thing together is Soft Fangs’ pop sensibility. There may not be huge sing-along choruses, but there’s a tight construction and lightness of touch that keeps it from falling into its metaphorical navel. One might say that Lutkevich is focused on making the light shine through the darkness. On that note he succeeds very well.