Ten songs of acoustic pop is the form which this latest album from Detroit native Mascott takes. Art Project is an accomplished but not stunning album, which doesn't push very hard at the cosy boundaries of the two to three minute songs it comprises. That's not a problem in itself, of course - some of these songs can sound refreshingly unpretentious and taut - but there are superior practitioners of the format around, for example Gregory and the Hawk and Tina Dico, who patrol similar territory but more engagingly so.With only ten songs and 25 minutes to play with, Mascott really needs to deliver as many glittering pop chunks as possible, but too many of these songs fail to glitter thoroughly enough, and some, like "Letting Go of the Sun" attempt a more moody, serious tone and instead fall flat and sound incongruous against the rest of the songs. Conversely, the best song is the final one, "Oh Peggy I" which uses some lyrical wordplay and very pleasant strings to wake us up a little.Ultimately, Art Project is a small, unassuming, formulaic pop album which, while hardly bad or in any way unpalatable, is in fact almost too palatable, too unambitious and unremarkable in a world frankly overflowing with energetic, intelligent pop opponents. In that grand scramble, Art Project is going to get left on the shelf, however much earnestness and well-played but unspectacular instrumentation it is able to bring to the table. "Finish what you start" begins a line in that final song, "and you can call it art." Alas, this album is a lesson that tells us it's not quite that simple. 50%Mascott on MySpace