To listen to Shorthand is to listen to an exercise in aural schizophrenia. Shorthand is really mild-mannered Peter Davis, who teaches freshman composition and poetry at Ball State. But he's more than that. He's dabbled in sound engineering, is well known as an accomplished artist, has worked as a sign painter, a mental health worker, a musician and as Arts Desk producer for Indiana Public Radio. And in this case art imitates life -- Good Enough is at once experimental, eclectic and above all addictive, showing the dedicated listener the rewards that can be reaped from innovative music.

Shorthand's music is not easily digested, however, mostly due to the low-fidelity nature of the audio recordings. So even if you're a fan of experimental artists working in country and pop music, you might make it through the album still wondering exactly what it was all about. One has to become involved in the album, listening repeatedly to it while having an understanding of the American folk asthetic. Davis is clearly a fan of artists like Arlo Guthrie, though his work on Good Enough goes well beyond pure folk.

At its best the album is an example of how a great hook doesn't need thousands of dollars of recording production. "A Two Part Word" is a solidly crafted country song that focuses the listener on the frail vocalist's plight. The song's protagonist is essentially an everyman who happens to stumble on his wife, who is cheating on him. He argues that heartbreak is a two part word, based on love and hurt. But she turns the story back on him, suggesting that he drove her to what she did, playing an equal part in what happened. And because the song isn't steeped in "radio friendly" production, the song exists as just that -- a song, in the way songs existed in country music before it was co-opted by pop.

But he doesn't stop with stripping country down to basics. "Saying Goodbye" blends a swing beat with a funky r&b guitar and bass line that provides the perfect base for what may be the catchiest lyric I've heard from an indie artist this year. "If you say goodbye, baby, goodbye it doesn't matter who tried or didn't try," Shorthand sings, and then he lets the guitar speak for him. The song is fantastic, and shows exactly what someone on a budget can do with home studio equipment. And "Sit Right Down" builds on the formula, taking a country-tinged rock and adding his patented scratchy vocals to the mix. "I'm gonna sit right down and right you a letter, come worse or baby come better!" he wails over the guitar, bass and drums. Somehow I think the minimalist in Jack White would be pleased by this.

Shorthand's Good Enough isn't for everyone. But for those who appreciate when good hooks can meet intelligent songwriting in an indie-minimalist setting, Shorthand's album can't be beat. That this album came from an artist in our own community, working without the benefit of a major-label record contract or studio is even more impressive. I can't wait to hear what this guy does next.