Karl Blau is a happy mess. Onstage and on record, he’s unpredictable—not in a smash-your-guitar sort of way, but an exuberant, easily spooked sort of way, as if he’s a friendly but shy ambassador from a land ruled by an idealistic, indie ethos. That land, of course, is Anacortes, Wash., the foggy island home of many a K family member and the DIY music venue/hostel the Department of Safety. Beneath Waves, Blau’s first solo release on K Records, has an untreated sound that could only come from him, and perhaps only from Anacortes. Lyrics invoke days lazed away in the slow bliss of that wet and green town, a perfect mood-setter for the home stretch of a long drive to a cold beach (in the Northwest, they’re all cold). The erratic syncopation of songs like “My Johnny” and “Into the Nada” unbalance Blau’s poppy vocals and whimsically threaten to send the songs careening into a jubilant, band class cacophony. “Slow Down Joe,” alternatively, features sludgy guitars that chugga-chug through the track with a solid conviction, making it one of a few stable, KEXP-friendly anthems. As June nears and the urge to cannonball into a lake and wash away my city stress grows, Beneath Waves will become a staple of my summer jukebox. Those summer months just can’t come soon enough.

You can catch Karl in Vancouver, B.C. tonight at The Castle in the Clouds, and in Victoria, B.C. tomorrow at the Orange Hall.