Oren Bloedow's first solo album is a quirky mix of pop tunes influenced by avant and smooth jazz. After getting used to Bloedow's non-singerly, kind-of-thin-sounding voice, his songs reveal themselves to be very clever, carefully crafted jazz-pop gems. The melodic, tasteful bass playing that Bloedow was known for as a member of John Lurie's seminal downtown group the Lounge Lizards, is a driving force throughout and is offset nicely by Danny Blume's inventive guitar lines. Likewise, trombonist Dan Levine and sax player Aaron Heick offer sympathetic, classy playing that never clutters Bloedow's somewhat complicated song structures. Guest musician John Medeski peppers Bloedow's tracks with his virtuosic piano and organ playing to agreeable effect as well. These elements, combined with Bloedow's oddball lyrics (i.e. "Oh my/is that what it's like to die/to float up over yourself/and finally fly" from Big What and "The song about sleaziness/the tug that I can't resist/the rose that pierced my fist" from Sleaziness), make for an utterly unique album that bears as much comparison to Steely Dan as it does to a late-night hotel lounge crooner. Although Bloedow's songs are all delivered through the filter of a cool downtown hipster, his voice, lyrics, and overall vibe is quite sincere and rewards close listening. ~ Matthew Carlin, Rovi

1		The Unbreakable Man
2		Sleaziness
3		Break This Spell
4		Falling Rain
5		A Little Contact
6		There's That Sky
7		Big What
8		[Untitled]
9		Nobody Home
10		Seesaw
11		One Look