Canadian character-sketch songwriter Gregory Pepper has given up a lot for Lent this year. His new album No More Skulls says goodbye to said craniums and his old band The Problems. But his unerring knack for highly tuneful, incredibly short songs remains in place.

What we have here is 10 songs running just shy of 16 minutes, helpfully stitched together in some places into a seemingly seamless wall of song that shifts and undulates with striking tempo changes and creative choices when it comes to instruments. Album opener “No More Skulls” slinks in, slow and broody with somebody’s hand clearly dragging the tape speed intermittently. But half way through things blow up in a variety of ways, all good. The instrumental “Gopnik Prelude” that follows shifts the mood like a Wes Anderson film soundtrack before the vaudeville-esque “God Made You Weak” pumps up the energy. Four songs in “Cardinal Song” gets us closer to Pepper’s signature sophistico-pop sound and the sheen practically glistens. But steady yourself for the should-be single “Baby Tooth.” This is a compositionally rich piece of work with a seductive keyboard line and a dark tint to the melodic tone that colours the song. The rest of the album shifts gears like a premium automatic drive. “Lean On” has a new wave Cars elan, the guitars and handclaps so conjure the period. “Get Well Soon” is pop-folkie, acoustic-guitar simplicity itself. “We Don’t Have to Talk” evokes Jon Brion’s distinctive sonic mood for me. Then there’s “Bloodmobile.” At just 18 seconds of cartoon-worthy tune-age, it does an impressive job of establishing its many melodic themes so quickly. The record wraps with “Happy Days Theme Song,” a song that is pleasantness itself, just ambling along until a notable shift at the two-thirds mark increases the sense of urgency. It’s a genius move that draws the listener back from the lulling going on earlier.

My advice? Grab the popcorn and settle in somewhere to really enjoy Gregory Pepper’s No More Skulls. It’s got the pacing and colourful characters of a late night flick at the all-nite movie house. But don’t look away, things move fast at Camp Pepper. Undoubtedly you’ll probably miss something hella clever.

Photo courtesy Gregory Pepper, Camp Pepper, Illustrations.