Interpol singer-guitarist Paul Banks has always been a New Waver with a velvet crooner's soul, locating the lounge-y loveman in the image of his hero, Joy Division's Ian Curtis. With this solo alter ego, he digs into his gloomy-balladeer side. "Fun That We Have" turns Interpol's hard-charging drone into a heartsick hobble, "On the Esplanade" is hushed folk, and lachrymose ballads like "Girl on the Sporting News" explore a doomed romanticism that's as goofy as it is creepy. When he sings, "You can live your whole life in a cave, man," on "No Chance Survival," it's hard to tell if that's a warning or advice.