*** Ron Sexsmith

WHEREABOUTS

(Interscope)

Weird: it takes a certain volition, some might say a certain cheer, to make pop melancholy transcend its inherent drowsiness. There are singer-songwriters -- Richard Buckner for example -- confused about this; they invariably droop toward the doldrums while explaining their broken hearts. Not Ron Sexsmith. Whereabouts finds the way-too-blue Canadian linking himself with both Nick Drake and the Beatles. Forlorn enough to conjure visions of the feathery Brit folkster, he's nevertheless craftsman enough to give his audience something meatier to chew on -- as with the Fab Four's quieter moments, there's rigor below the hush.

This third major outing fortifies Sexsmith's trademark ennui with the most coercive melodies of his career. That French-horn voice of his is applied to the laconic parade of "One Gray Morning," the emphatic backbeat on "Must Have Heard You Wrong," and the Celtic lilt of "Every Passing Day." Each has a luster about it (Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake are tweaking again), and they balance the whimpers and sighs of sleepy ballads like "Riverbed" and "Doomed." "I never said I'd be your superhero/Never said that I was strong," he broods on the former. Whereabouts suggests otherwise. Sexsmith's musical muscles are limber enough to carry mucho weight.

-- Jim Macnie