It's mystifying that this half-hour recording of modest and intimate ballads is the first true solo album from . While he is known most for his and 's pop-soul confection "Would I Lie to You?," a global smash in 1992, the singer/songwriter's career is filled with too many twists, obstacles, and turns -- including shelved albums for major-label and, no kidding, 's -- to be neatly encapsulated in a listicle about one-hit wonders. Involved with music since the mid-'70s, he left the business in the early 2000s, returned in the late 2000s as one-half of the whimsical (with wife ), and after another long retreat got the urge to make music again. Through a mutual friend, was introduced to , an unstinting collaborator -- primarily a keyboardist and composer -- who counts , , and among the dozens of artists who have sought out his talent. 's percolating machine rhythms and gently rippling keyboards, always sounding as if they're on a serene kind of quest, are wholly in sync with , whose sweet, soul-steeped voice has acquired some ruggedness that suits his sparing words of wisdom, reflection, and heartache. Taken at face value, is somewhat deceptive as a title, since it's revealed to be more an objective than it is emblematic of the album. Most often about some form of romantic grief -- regret, betrayal, uncertainty, miscommunication, and resulting crisis -- the tracks flit between fragmentary musings and more traditionally structured songs. is effective with both approaches. In "Wicked World," he simply repeats "Loved you, it was wrong/It's a wicked world, can't control it," recalling at his most vulnerable. That repetitious tracing is just as powerful as the comparatively voluble "Hurt," where memories and revelations spill out like a slow-motion catharsis. This could be a perfect final act, an unexpected one-off that sounds out of time and in a space of its own, but then it would be a shame if and didn't continue their affiliation. ~ Andy Kellman