Jumping ship before the now sadly defunct Grandaddy officially broke up might have actually been the best career move their former guitarist Jim Fairchild could have made. Beginning his solo career under the banner All Smiles, his debut album Ten Readings of a Warning is a strong set of straightforward, breezy indie pop songs that crackle along with appealing feel of unpretentiousness thanks in part to their lo-fi production, but mostly because Fairchild sounds like he’s having such a damn good time making music.

Unsurprisingly many of the songs were written while he was still in the group, perhaps with one eye on a post-Grandaddy career, but more likely from the albums chirpy, upbeat feel, he was writing for the fun of it. Appropriately, despite being home recorded, Fairchild has lovingly crafted each track here, doing the best with the limited budget by filling the album with piano, fuzzed up electric guitar and recruiting, what he describes as “talented friends” to lend a hand, including Sleater-Kinney’s Janet Weist and Joe Plummer of Black Heart Procession, to lend a hand. The songs follow the simple two verse, chorus format, with a strummed acoustic guitar or some simple piano keys pushing them along, and are complimented by Fairchild’s soft sung vocals which blend in nicely to the gentle feel of the album in a similar manner to that of Ben Kweller.

In a way All Smiles feels like the perfect guise for Fairchild to adopt, as happiness seems to be his primary feeling throughout the album. The opening track is a short instrumental that leads nicely into ‘Summer Stay’, a wonderful piece of cheerful pop which finds him reminiscing about what could have been the best day of his life. For those familiar with Ice Cube’s ‘It Was a Good Day’ think those kinds of vibrations, albeit for middle class whites from Chicago. “Summer stay, don’t end too soon” sings Fairchild, splitting the track up with fiddly guitar parts between verses. Standout ‘Pile of Burning Leaves’’ is in the spirit of Neil Young’s more laid back work and features some nimble acoustic guitar playing. ‘Moth In A Cloud of Smoke’ is the album at its most catchy, despite the unusual stop/start piano and vocals and a layer of fuzzy electric guitar in the background.

While on first inspection the album might seem to move at the same pace throughout, Fairchild throws enough curve balls to keep listeners on their toes through repeat listens. The drum solo in ‘Sprinting Hyphens’, the extended guitar solo on ‘Killing Sheep’, the waltz piano on ‘I Know It’s Wrong’, maintaining album-length interest.

‘Of Course It’s Not Up To Me’ is a Beatles-y piano ballad turned loud sing-along anthem comparable to ‘Let It Be’ or ‘The Long And Winding Road’ that always seems to close guitar pop albums like this, but it does underline that Ten Readings of a Warning is more than just a charming, autumn record; it’s the creative birth of a fine songwriter. A reminder that glossy production can never substitute good, old fashioned songwriting nous, a skill that will leave listeners smiling from ear to ear.