Rhett Miller

There is no way that anything I’m about to write regarding Rhett Miller’s self-titled solo album will adequately convey the way harmony and heartache meet with sharp wit, sweet woe and sly wordplay over a magnificent mixture of power-pop hooks, harder-rock riffs and tender folk ballads to perform the musical alchemy currently streaming from my speakers.

While it might be an uncomfortable state of mind for the musician, it makes for some compelling tunes here.

Per usual for his solo work, he's made his strongest set yet.

On this fine self-titled set (produced, as was the most recent 97's album, by Dallas-based Salim Nourallah) Miller works his familiar mixture of '60s-pop jangle and alt-country twang, singing about the highs and lows of love like someone who just experienced them for the first time.

If Rhett Miller only intermittently generates excitement, it’s because after 2002’s wonderful "The Instigator," Miller seemed bound for more lasting rock glory. Instead he’s settled comfortably into the minor leagues, reliably scattering the kinds of hits that still turn scouts’ heads.

It's an ambitious album that finds Miller really stretching himself as a songwriter, but it's hard not to wish there were more songs like the nervy 'If It's Not Love' on board to help the medicine go down.