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No need to lament the demise of Clem Snide: Eef Barzelay hasn't radically changed his modus operandi for his first post-band solo album (and the successor to ‘06's Bitter Honey). Lose Big even includes a few tracks originally written for Clem Snide albums and a new version of one, "I Love The Unknown," they recorded. Barzelay's still blending the sincere and sardonic, the wisdom and wit, the revealing and ridiculous, and his reedy, aching voice rarely betrays whether he's serious or ironic. And that's his charm.

Not only does the Israel-born, Nashville-based artist possess one of the best names in rock, he's one of its sharpest writers. Witness "My Apocalyptic Friend": it's addressed to someone anticipating the world's destruction in a moment of religious rapture. "My dear apocalyptic friend, convinced the world will shortly end, I only want to hold you in my arms," the song begins, set to a rumbling tom-drum thump, some lightly picked electric guitar and a few fuzzy, distorted chords. But the song mixes sympathy with condemnation, raising the question of the babies who might not be among the chosen. "Is this the joy felt waking up your heart?" It's a nuanced song, even though it's one of the most overt on the album; Barzelay has clearly spent some time with Randy Newman albums. He can turn his satiric eye on himself, as on the pessimistic rocker "It Could Be Worse," although he's more cutting when he adopts the role of a new age crank in "Numerology" or the suicidal teen in the acoustic "True Freedom." He can also be poignantly sincere, as in the remembrance of his late mother in "Song For Batya." Lose Big can be funny, but it can also be wrenching.

Standout Tracks: "I Love The Unknown," "Could Be Worse" STEVE KLINGE