Surrogate singer/guitarist Chris Keene has a feel for shifting private moods and ambiguous American landscapes. This inviting song collection manages to sound expansive and minimalist at once, deftly combining almost childlike melodies with intriguing lyric themes. Pitched somewhere between Death Cab for Cutie and mid-period Beach Boys, the album benefits from Jordan Mallory’s versatile drum work and Daniel Martin’s sparse keyboard accents. Keene’s bemused vocals bring out the mixture of whimsy and menace imbedded in tracks like “State of Jefferson” and “Surprise.” Surrogate shifts easily from bright, Wilco-like pop (“Cynicism,” “A Constitution”) into pastoral hippie-style folk (“The Devil Gets What He Wants (Sometimes)”). There are love songs of a sort to be found here as well, such as the vigorous “Whiskey (Vomiting Words).” “Water Tower,” a daydream-y small town vignette, sums up much of the band’s appealing humor and heart. Popular Mechanics is guided by a knowing eye for human foibles and a firm grasp of alt-pop idioms.