Dave Shaw is proving to be a difficult guy to pin down. One minute, you’ll find him crooning beneath the tense and gloomy electronics of his Glass Random moniker, the next he’s releasing a totally sincere and unwinking cover of Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love.” His musical output over the last two years balances on a thin line between shrugging irony and playful sincerity. His latest release as Camp David, entitled Babes Before Christ, finds a perfect balance between these two seemingly irreconcilable styles. The album, which disguises itself as a straightforward set of kitschy pop songs, is actually a tightly crafted arc, offering an earnest examination of domestic love. The second song of the album, “Over and Over,” presents a relationship elevating itself from the shallow pools of infatuation, as Shaw laments “I feel low/but I want to feel your shoulder blades” before admitting to a desire for a deeper commitment: “stay with me, I want you to myself.” Late album cuts like “Sick Kissing” offer similar sentiments of domesticity, as Shaw describes an evening with his significant other: “Nobody knows what we’re about/we’re making tea and making out.” This quiet celebration of domestic romance provides the backbone of the album, but its strongest moments are actually found in its instrumental interludes. The amazingly-named instrumental cut “All-Horse Olympics 2044” displays Shaw’s effortlessly chilled sense of melody, as his kitschy synths groove over a loop of computer generated claves. Overall, Babes Before Christ is a fun, catchy, and highly danceable effort, and when I ask myself if this is Shaw’s strongest release yet, my body is telling me yes. (Independent, www.campdavid.bandcamp.com) Sara Jay